Difficult Words to Say
by JTTran
Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along with each other. But when the two magically switch bodies, they must learn to live in each other's shoes and deal with each other's problems. True feelings are revealed as they gradually understand each other, but will a tragic mistake destroy their budding romance? Chapter 9 is posted; hidden feelings are revealed and confessed.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I claim to own none of the original Teen Titans characters. However, all original characters were invented by me. Any similarities to other FanFiction original characters or stories are purely coincidental.**

**Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along with each other. But when the two magically switch bodies, they must learn to live in each other's shoes and deal with each other's problems. True feelings are revealed, but will a tragic mistake destroy their budding romance?**

**Author Notes: This is a story I've had in my head while working on my last FanFiction. The key theme in this story is "What are you willing to do to save the ones you love?" and the love presented in this story will not only be romantic love. You'll understand the meaning behind these words as the story progresses. For now, simply read the story and if you liked it, please follow, favorite, and review! :)**

**Ladies and Gentlemen,**

**JTTran presents**

**Difficult Words to Say**

* * *

**Chapter I - Introduction**

_I remember it was raining when I had met him. Foggy, too. Not to mention somewhat dark. Naturally, the people on the streets—myself included—ran into the nearest buildings to seek shelter from the rain. It was there that I first saw him, sitting next to me inside the Bank of Pérez, waiting for the rain to lessen._

_I did not take much notice of him at first and kept staring out into the rain, muttering, "Great. Just great."_

"_It's not too bad," the man sitting next to me replied. "I've seen worse, trust me." I glanced at him casually. He seemed to be in his mid-20s, fairly young, and was completely green from head to toe—though strangely I did not take much notice of it. The man started speaking again, "Looks like we'll be here for a while." He extended his hand and I took it as we introduced ourselves. His name was Garfield Logan—or "Gar" for short. The name struck me as somewhat familiar._

"_If you don't mind me asking," he said to me. "Do you believe in love?" I asked him what kind of question was that. "I'm just wondering," he replied. "Just trying to make conversation."_

_I told him I didn't know, but I probably did not. "Well then," he said with a smile. "I have a story that'll make you believe in love."_

_I raised my eyebrows in interest. But I was suspicious. "Does your story take place in Shakespearean time? About a young Montague and a Capulet falling in love?"_

"_No."_

"_Does it take place one hundred years ago about two lovers on the Titanic when it sank?"_

"_No, no. It starts right here in Jump City and ends right here in Jump City."_

"_And it'll make me believe in love?"_

"_Yes."_

"_That's a tall order."_

"_Not so tall that you can't reach."_

"_Tell me," I said, glancing out the window and seeing the downpour of rain. "There's nothing much better for me to do anyway."_

"_Okay, but listen closely. I think it's a story you'd like," he said with a mysterious smile. He pointed out the window. "Have you been near the beach lately?"_

"_I went yesterday."_

"_Have you seen that giant tower? The one shaped like a 'T'? They call it the Titans Tower. It used to house one of the strongest superhero teams in the world: Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy—the Teen Titans. But mostly this story is about the last two people—the changeling named Beast Boy and the sorceress named Raven. This is their story."_

...

Glass cups jumped into the air for a second as Raven's hand slammed onto the table. A frying pan was levitated out of the pantry and thrown towards a certain green parrot. "Get back here, Beast Boy!" she cried as she levitated a few spoons nearby.

The parrot reverted to human form, revealing a boy completely green from head to toe. "I already told you I'm sorry! What else do you want?" he exclaimed as he ducked behind a chair.

"Sorry doesn't get me my book back, does it?" she yelled. "Do you have any idea how important that book was?"

"Dude!" he waved his arms frantically. "It was just a blank book! There was nothing on it. It wasn't worth anything, right? No harm no foul?"

"It was not just a blank book!"

Beast Boy opened his mouth as if to say something but abruptly changed into a turtle as another frying pan flew in his direction. He didn't get why Raven was getting so mad. It was just a blank book. After realizing there was nothing in it, he had left it on his bed where it was perfectly safe and sound. Before being found by Silkie. Technically it wasn't his fault the book ended up in a mutant moth larva's digestive system.

"Well then what was it?" he said.

"I don't have time to explain to you!"

"No, you're just saying that because you don't want to admit that I really did just take a plain, empty book."

"What, you think I'm plotting different ways to tear you limb by limb just because I want to? I'm plotting different ways to torture you because you took one of the most important things in my room! And destroyed it!"

"Well _technically_ I wasn't the one that destroyed—"

"SHUT UP!"

A bowling ball left aside in the living room made its way across the room towards Beast Boy until a blaring red alarm went off. Raven immediately dropped the bowling ball and ran with Beast Boy towards the sofas in the Main Operations Room. They were quickly joined by Starfire and Cyborg who, too, made their way to the sofas as they waited for the last Titan. In time, he came with the grim announcement. "We've got trouble," he said. "Someone's trying to steal Unobtainium to sell on the black market."

"Unobtainium?" Cyborg said with a start. "What do you mean? There is none in Jump City."

"There's a 1/100th fragment in the Wayne Industries building," Robin explained. "I remember Batman telling me before."

"How much can a 1/100th fragment sell for?" Raven asked, her recent fight with Beast Boy completely off her mind.

"It's hard to say. Could be anywhere from $500,000 to $2 million."

"Then we'd better go," Beast Boy said.

"Right. Titans GO!"

…

A bright light lit the large vault, shining upon a small shard of crystalline glass. A man in a black outfit surrounded by several guards held the object in his hands as he examined it closely. "Unobtainium," he muttered. "You'll sell very nicely, yes you will."

"I'm afraid that Unobtainium's been put on hold," came a distant voice. The man turned around to see the five Titans standing before him. "Ah, the Teen Titans. I've been expecting you," he declared. "Unfortunately, I'm not one for formalities. Just call me Rift."

"It's a good thing we're not into formalities, either," Robin replied. "We don't really care much what your name is."

Rift merely snickered and whispered to the guards at his side, "Would you please take care of these pests?" The guards nodded and immediately ran forward to attack the Titans.

"Wait, what are they doing?" Cyborg said. "Those are Wayne Industries guards, aren't they?"

"They must be working for Rift and stole some uniforms," Robin said. "Doesn't matter. We'll take 'em down anyway."

Robin took out his bo staff and struck a guard aside as Beast Boy transformed into a massive bear and fought off the nearby guards. Raven telekinetically controlled some rope to subdue the guards while Starfire and Cyborg turned their attention towards Rift, as their powers were far too strong and they didn't want to risk killing any people.

Starfire shot starbolts at Rift, who evaded them swiftly and rebounded one towards Cyborg. The massive man fell down in shock, but quickly recuperated and fired a small sonic cannon blast. The masked marauder teleported away just before being hit. He reappeared just behind Starfire and struck her on the head with a kick.

"Wonder why they call me Rift?" he taunted as he teleported again. Reappearing behind Robin and landing several swift punches on the unsuspecting Boy Wonder, he continued, "I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. I'm a riot in Gotham. Your Titans East friends have met me on a few occasions. Never caught me though. Because whenever I'm caught—" He teleported once more, appearing behind Raven and attacking her by surprise. "—whenever I'm caught, I'm really not." He disappeared.

Anticipating his enemy's next move and realizing Rift would reappear behind him, Cyborg shouted, "Oh no you don't!" and swung his fist behind him, striking Rift just as he had reappeared. The man in black took the hit hard as he was flung to a wall, giving a noticeable _crack_ as he hit the concrete. As he stood up and reached for a weapon, starbolts were shot at him, causing him to flee into the shadows of the vault.

Raven, having dispatched the remaining guards, closed her eyes and focused her Soul-self, searching through the shadows for her target. She found him and quickly summoned dark shadows to wrap themselves around Rift, trapping him. "Grr," he growled as he struggled to loosen himself. The Teen Titans slowly closed in on the trapped thief.

"Finally," Robin sighed. "Finally we've got you. I guess that makes us the record-holders for capturing you, huh?"

"Now hand over the Unobtainium," Cyborg ordered, charging his sonic cannon and aiming it at the man in black.

"How about no?" came the reply.

"You are trapped, Rift," Starfire said sternly.

"Not—quite yet," he said. "My little Titans, you have failed to learn—I am _never_ caught." Robin sensed a smile underneath the mask. Struggling through the shadows, Rift reached over his belt and pressed a button. In seconds he disappeared, swallowed by what seemed to be a small black hole.

"What is that?" Cyborg yelled.

"A black hole?" Beast Boy cried.

"Some kind of rip in the space-time continuum!" Robin replied. He felt himself being slowly pulled in.

"…A rift…" Starfire realized.

"I can't move!" Raven said. "The shadows I trapped him with… It's pulling me in!" Beast Boy looked at her in horror; she was clearly struggling but was slowly sliding closer and closer to the rift. "I—I can't—" she cried before losing her balance and falling into the rift. She disappeared.

"Raven!" Beast Boy suddenly cried. He instinctively ran after her and jumped into the portal despite the others' protests.

"No!" Cyborg bellowed as the rift closed. "B.B.! Rae!"

Robin cursed and frantically picked up his Titans communicator. "Raven! Beast Boy! Can you hear me?"

Static.

Again, he repeated the same thing.

More static.

Robin angrily tossed the communicator onto the ground. "R—bin?" a voice came. He instantly snatched it back up and answered, "Yeah, I'm here. Raven? Please tell me you two are alright."

"I'm—fine. What is this place?"

"What? Where are you?" Cyborg said.

"I dunno. It's like some kind of—Space Compression wormhole or something. Everything's here… I see you guys, too!"

"What do you mean 'Space Compression'?" Robin asked.

"It's hard to say in words," Beast Boy's voice came. "Imagine the entire world being compressed together into one—like, one _stream_ of places, you know?"

"I really don't."

"Imagine what a wormhole looks like in the movies. Like you're time-travelling through a wormhole and if you jump off at a certain place, you can get to a certain point in time. Imagine that, except with places all around the world instead of travelling through time. We can see Wayne Industries from here. The Tower, too—there he is! Rift!"

"Beast Boy!" Raven said.

"What? What's happening?" Robin practically yelled into his communicator.

"We've found Rift. Beast Boy's gone after him. I have trouble moving here so I don't think I can be much help."

"Is there any way you can escape that wormhole, Raven?" Starfire said.

"I see Jump City. If Beast Boy and I time it right, we should be able to jump out of this wormhole thing and into the Tower."

"Raven, we can't let Rift get away with that. Is there any way you can attack him by surprise?"

"I can shoot a stream of dark energy at him. But honestly he's too far away." A pause. "Okay, I can do it, but he and Beast Boy are fighting. I don't have a good shot."

Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire looked at each other. "Never mind," Robin said. "It's too dangerous. Get Beast Boy out of there now!"

"No! Let her!" Beast Boy suddenly interrupted. "It's like you said. We can't let Rift get away with that." The sounds of punching could be heard.

"It's not worth it, B.B.," Cyborg said. "What if Raven misses?"

"She won't!"

"What if you guys land in Canada or Africa or something?"

"Then we'll find our way back! We can't let him get away and I'm clearly losing the fight! Argh!"

"Beast Boy, I don't think I can shoot him without hurting you!"

"Don't shoot it, Raven."

"Trust me. She can do this. Do it, Rae!"

"Raven…" Starfire said.

"I—I can't, Beast Boy! Just get out of there now!"

"Shoot it!" Beast Boy shouted.

Robin's hands were sweaty. "Don't shoot it," he said. "Don't!"

"Shoot it!"

"I don't have a clear shot!" He could hear the panic in Raven's voice.

"Shoot it!"

"Beast Boy, don't!"

"Raven, don't!"

"I—"

"Raven! NOW!"

Silence.

Utter silence.

The three Titans in the vault stood together, staring at the communicator as if it was the only thing keeping them alive.

Raven's voice came from the communicator, as small as a whisper. "Titan down."

…

The three Titans made their way back to Titans Tower. They waited inside the living room silently until the center of the room distorted, creating a rift like a portal. A young woman concealed under a blue cloak stepped out as the portal closed. Her face was sullen and grim.

"Raven!" Starfire said, immediately jumping up and helping her friend sit down. The sorceress seemed fatigued.

"What happened?" Robin asked. "Is Beast Boy…?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. When I—I shot him with my powers… he fell. He fell from the wormhole thing and landed in who-knows-where. Rift escaped. Disappeared somewhere. I don't know if Beast Boy's still alive."

Cyborg checked his communicator. "I can't get a signal from Beast Boy. His communicator must've been damaged. I can't find him."

"I can't believe I missed… How could I have missed…"

"It wasn't your fault," Robin said comfortingly. "You did your best."

"Beast Boy… he might be dead because of me."

"He's not dead, do you hear? He's perfectly fine. He's just a little lost, but then again, when is he not, right?" Glancing towards Cyborg, he told him, "Go to the computers and scan Earth. Do you think you can detect his genetic signature anywhere?"

"Uh… little boy in a big world equals no can do. Finding his location won't be so easy."

"Is there any way you can find him?"

Cyborg sighed. "I can scan for his genetic signature. If I search for the Sakutia in his DNA it should be easier. It's possible but it will take hours."

"We have all night. You can just set the computers to auto-scan the globe and it should find Beast Boy by tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll go now." Cyborg nodded and left.

Starfire felt Raven's head and said, "Raven, you should go to the infirmary. You may have been injured in the rift."

"I'll be fine, Star. Just need a little time alone," Raven replied.

"No, Star's right," Robin chipped in. "We have no idea what effects the rift could have. It's best you stay in the infirmary for the night."

Raven conceded and nodded as Starfire led her to the elevator. "I'll go contact Titans East!" Robin shouted after them. "Find out more about this Rift character."

"Okay! Goodnight, Robin."

"Night, Robin."

As the two female Titans rode the elevator up, Starfire suddenly piped up, "Raven… may I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything."

"You and Beast Boy have been fighting a lot."

"Star, if you just now realized that, I think you might have blanked out for the past four years or so."

"Yes, I know. I mean—you two do not really mean that do you?"

"Mean what?"

"The things you say. You do not really hate each other, correct?"

Raven couldn't help but smile at her friend's seeming naïveté. "'Course not, Starfire. That's—that's just our _thing_."

"Thing?" the Tamaranian inquired.

"Yeah. Like how you and Robin were always and will always be The Couple." Starfire blushed at this as the corners of her lips rose. Raven continued, "Cyborg is the Big Brother. And Beast Boy and I… we're the Two People Who Never Get Along. Doesn't mean we hate each other. He's one of my closest friends. I just can't stand him sometimes… but that's okay. We're just friends… in a different way, know what I mean?"

"Yes I see…" The red-haired girl put her finger to her lips as if she was thinking. "But you know, in Tamaran there is no such thing as that."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. In my world, whenever two people bicker very often, they either hate each other with all their hearts… or they have feelings for each other."

Whatever color was in Raven's face flushed. "Wait, what?" she exclaimed, jumping up with bulging eyes. "Oh God! Oh good God, no! Star… you're not implying that I have—_feelings _—for Beast Boy?"

Starfire's eyes widened and she waved her hands in protest. "Oh no! No, of course not! I was just making sure you two did not hate each other."

"Oh… good…" she blew out a sigh of relief.

"Yes. I was merely comparing you and Beast Boy's relationship to those on my planet. I see now that on Earth two people can fight and be friends at the same time. Friends—and not anything else."

"Yeah…" Raven said. "It's completely different on Earth. When two people fight, it doesn't mean they like each other."

"Of course not."

"Yeah. Beast Boy and I—we're just friends. Best friends. And nothing can change that."

"Right."

The elevator opened and Starfire led Raven to a bed where she lied down wearily. "I will check up on you in an hour," the Tamaranian said. "Do you require anything, Raven?"

"No, Starfire. Thanks."

The alien princess nodded and walked back into the elevator, which closed behind her. Raven breathed slowly and closed her eyes as she lay on the bed. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted in a whisper. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She felt herself leave her body and fly into the air. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

"Beast Boy," her voice echoed in her mind. "Beast Boy. Can you hear me?"

"R—Raven?" she heard. Her lips smiled, but continued chanting.

"Thank God I managed to find your aura."

"My aura?"

"It's like your spiritual scent," she explained. "It's a lot easier for me to find you since I've been around you for years. Listen, where are you?"

"I don't really know," Beast Boy said.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"You're sure? I hit you pretty hard."

"Hurts like hell," he laughed. "But I'm fine."

"Look, I'm really sorry about—that."

"It's not your fault. I was the one who told you to shoot. I shouldn't have overestimated your abilities."

"Really, dude? You're gonna go there?"

"Hehe, sorry."

"But really… you're fine?"

"As fine as I'll always be."

"We're going to get you as soon as we locate you."

"Thanks."

Silence.

"Beast Boy…" she said in her mind. "I'm really sorry."

"You said that already," he replied.

"No, not about that. About before that. Our fight. I shouldn't have yelled at you and thrown stuff at you."

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have snuck into your room without your permission."

"Why did you do it?"

Silence. "Well…" he stammered. "I was trying to find a book about Azarath."

"…You? You wanted to read? About Azarath? For some reason, that's not processing in my mind."

"It's true!" she heard him chuckle. "The last time we fought, you said that I never try to understand you. So that's what I tried to do. I wanted to learn more about Azarath and more about you. So I could understand you a bit more, y'know?"

Raven was stunned. Did he really mean that? He wanted to learn more about her? He wanted to understand her? "Wow… really?" she gaped. It took a while to process this. "Why—why didn't you just ask?"

"You would've said no. You would've just said I wouldn't understand."

"That's not true!"

"Oh yeah? What was so important about that book that I took?"

"You wouldn't under—" She stopped herself and swallowed her words, remembering that that was exactly what she had said earlier in the day.

"You see?"

"Shut up…" Beast Boy was quiet, but Raven could tell he was smiling. "It's a communication book," she relented. "It comes in a pair. Whatever you write in one book is magically written in the other. I use it to communicate with my people back home in Azarath."

"Wow," she heard him gasp. "It's like email—for books."

She rolled her eyes. "If you really want to dumb it down like that, then yeah. It's email for books."

"Are you mocking me? For your information, I am capable of intelligent speech; I have the ability to speak with proper diction and syntax, I simply prefer not to, but still it pains me when you jest my speech."

"What did you just say?"

"Like it? I learned it from that Shakespeare book of yours."

"You mean this wasn't the first time you stole from me? You're such a stalker, Beast Boy."

"Hey, but this proves I'm smart, right?"

Raven paused and then replied snarkily, "Isn't it a little dangerous to use your entire vocabulary in one sentence?"

"Dude!"

"Correction: _that_ is your entire vocabulary in one sentence."

"Come on, Rae! Atchoo!"

"Azar bless you. You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just a bit cold here, that's all," he replied.

"Are you okay, Beast Boy?" she asked again. "You're perfectly fine?"

"Yes, yes! For the last time, I'm fine, Raven. Are _you_ okay? I think I should be the one to ask you that. You're acting kinda weird."

"How am I acting weird?"

"You're a bit more—worried—about me than usual."

"Sorry... It's just... these are kind of difficult words to say."

"Yeah, I get it though."

"Hey, I'm the doctor in the house, aren't I?" she said, remembering what Beast Boy had said years ago when she had healed his wound after their first fight with the H.I.V.E. "I'm supposed to be worried about my patients. Especially those I almost killed."

"Thanks, doc."

"We'll find you, Beast Boy. We will."

"Thanks, Rae. I can't wait to get back home."

"I can't wait, either."

They were quiet.

"Raven," Beast Boy suddenly said. "You should go to sleep now."

"Alright. I will." She smiled. "We'll find you, Beast Boy. I promise."

She heard him chuckle. "I know you will. Good night, Raven."

Raven opened her eyes as her telepathic communication with Beast Boy ended. Smiling ever so slightly as she wrapped herself in the blankets of the bed, she whispered to him as if her words will carry themselves to him, "Good night."

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**What, did you expect them to switch bodies from the very first chapter? Where's the fun in that? Don't worry, they'll switch soon and the REAL story will begin but for now, please REVIEW and tell me what you guys think! :D**

**Also, the 'Titan Down' scene was inspired by Skyfall. Great movie, by the way. Thanks for the guest reviewer that pointed it out. I completely forgot to mention that at first!**


	2. An Enemy's Return

**Wow. Just wow. This has been the most feedback I've ever gotten on the first chapter of any story I've written. I'm speechless. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I guess I must be doing something right! Haha, all jokes aside, thanks so much you guys! I think I'm going to reply to your reviews and questions in this story just to show you how much I appreciate it all! :D :D**

** krikanalo - Thanks! I feel like I've lost the Teens Titans touch in my last story so this time I'm keeping the look and feel as close as possible to the series.**

** Klonoakid17 - Thank you. Hope this chapter will satisfy!**

** LurkingShadowWillow - I'm back, baby! ;) I really do hope it'll be awesome. I have high hopes for this story. Might be my best yet.**

** Guest - Yeah I'm so so sorry for forgetting to mention the Titan Down scene was inspired by Skyfall. Thanks for reminding me though!**

** BizkitRebellion - Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

** Rjay Fame - Haha, doesn't it? Raven's going to be in for a rude awakening when she figures that out ;)**

** TheHowlingWhiteFox - Hope this chapter pleases you.**

** kmarie96 - Thanks!**

** Soulfulbard - Thank you. I was originally going to have the chapter end with the line 'Titan Down' but I felt it was too short and was lacking something. I decided to add that last scene, which was a Godsend! The chapter improved so much in so many ways. It really does start to set the tone for their incoming romance...**

** gabylokita41 - You're back! I haven't seen you for a while. Hope you like this story! Hmm I didn't intend for the unnamed narrator at the beginning to be much of a mystery but it seems quite a few people are intrigued at who he/she is. Hehe, that's good to know.**

**But as Rift would say, "Enough with the formalities." Let's get this show on the rode!**

* * *

**Chapter II - An Enemy's Return**

The T-Ship landed in what was called Andern Falls off the coast of France. As the four Titans rode out of the jet on the T-Car, Cyborg pressed a button on his arm that activated the ship's invisibility mode. The T-Ship shimmered and slowly merged into its environment, becoming completely invisible to the naked eye.

"Aight, now to look for String Bean," Cyborg muttered. "My sensors can trace him to this general location. He's on the western side of Andern Falls but I can't tell exactly where. Raven, can you sense him at all?"

Raven furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "There's too many people here that it's difficult to pick up his scent. I'm afraid there's no way my powers can help find him."

"Should we split up?" Starfire mused.

"I think that's the best idea," Robin said. "We have to keep in constant touch with each other via our communicators. If any of us find Beast Boy, alert the others immediately."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg nodded. "Robin, your motorcycle's in the back. Robin and I will search by land around here since we can't fly and we're limited by traffic. Star and Raven, you two fly above and see if you can find him."

"Roger," the two girls nodded as they exited the T-Car and flew up into the air.

As Raven flew from here to there, constantly searching for any sign of Beast Boy, physical and spiritual, she contemplated the mysterious figure Rift. The Titans East had very limited information about the man, only knowing that he was a super-villain with a suit that granted him teleportation powers. However, the Titans East had been able to supply one important detail—he seemed to exhibit mind-control powers. Whenever he performs a heist, he often does so with a few guards. Upon capture, these guards had always denied helping him. Many of them were trusted men and women who have shown anything but loyalty to their respective companies. As such, it is possible that Rift had brainwashed them and ordered them to help him. Robin managed to get in contact with Batman, who confirmed the Titans East's theory of his mind-control powers.

"A villain with mind-control powers," Raven thought. "Scratch that, mind-control _and_ teleportation." She certainly hoped they would not have to deal with him for long. Any villain with powers such as those were a threat, no matter how inept their physical abilities are. If Control Freak had those powers, even with his bumbling incompetence and lack of physical strength, he'd still pose a threat. Imagine how powerful Rift must be.

Another thing Raven had found curious was the fact that she could not sense Beast Boy. His scent or aura was there, she could feel it, but for some reason it was very vague and subtle. She found it especially odd considering that last night she had created a mental connection with him from the other side of the globe with some difficulty, but now she could not even sense him no matter how hard she tried even though she was in the same area as him. Raven had lied when she told the others that this was due to there being so many people. She did not want to worry them, but deep down she realized that there must be something interfering with her magic. There might be something near here that hinders her ability to magically sense her surroundings. But what could it be?

Andern Falls was a resort city that was very popular in France. It had everything from beaches to mountains to forests to man-made resorts. It was a paradise of a vacation and was visited by thousands of people every year. That added to the difficulty of finding Beast Boy to the sheer number of the population. But what could there be in a vacation city that would hinder her magic? Raven decided to leave it alone until it worsened. Besides, for all she knew, it could be a side-effect from the rift.

As Raven scanned the streets below, she wondered aloud, "If I were a little green boy, where would I be?" She decided to check the food court. Flying down and joining the flock of people on ground-level, Raven closed her eyes and tried to sense if Beast Boy was near. She managed to pick up a scent, which she deduced to mean that he was fairly close. If she concentrated more, maybe she'd be able to figure out what direction he was in—

"Ah!" Raven yelped as she fell to the ground. She looked over and saw a man lying next to her. He had crisp brown hair, bright green eyes, and was wearing a tuxedo. He looked over to her and immediately said, "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied as the man helped her up.

"I should've watched where I was going. It's my fault," he apologized.

"Honey! Honey, you okay?" a woman standing next to him said. She had long, brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a bridal gown. Turning towards Raven, she said, "I apologize for my husband's clumsiness. He's like that sometimes."

"Newly married?" Raven asked, examining their respective outfits. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," the man replied. "Could you do us a favor? Do you know where the Andern Hotel is? A car was supposed to come pick us up but was delayed so we figure it'd be easier and more fun to walk the way there."

Raven thought for a moment and recalled having seen the hotel nearby while she was flying. "I think it's that way," she said, pointing to her right. "You can't see it here because of the trees but if you walk a little closer, you should see it. It's huge."

"Alright, thank you!" the man said, beckoning the woman to follow him towards the direction Raven had pointed.

Raven continued looking for Beast Boy, trying to pick up any trace of him. To her disappointment, he must have left, for now she could not sense him at all. She picked up her communicator and said to the others, "I've done a visual search through the skies and in the food court. He's not here. Any luck from you guys?"

"He's not at the arcade," Robin answered.

"Haven't seen him on the streets, either," Cyborg answered.

"Nor is he in the mountainous regions," Starfire answered. "I fear that at this rate, we may never find Beast Boy. Oh, what shall happen to—"

"Starfire?"

"Star?"  
"You still there?"

"I—" she hesitantly replied. "There is a helicopter approaching."

"So? You've seen helicopters before."

"No, this one…" she said warily. "This one belongs to the Brotherhood of Evil."

"What?" Raven cried as she flew into the air. And sure enough, there it was—a large helicopter approaching the city with the Brotherhood logo on its side. "She's right. They're here."

"But why?"

"Who knows?" Raven watched as the chopper flew down towards the Andern Hotel. "It's heading towards the hotel," she told them. "Head over there right away!" As she placed her communicator back in her pocket, she flew as fast as she could towards the hotel.

As she approached, she saw the helicopter land and several android soldiers running out with guns in their hands. They quickly caused everyone to flee, except for two people whom they surrounded. The robots all pointed their guns at the two people they've captured, whom Raven recognized as the newly wedded couple she had met moments earlier.

Raven watched as the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, and General Immortus slowly walked out of the helicopter. "The Brotherhood of Evil…" she whispered to herself. "But where's Madame Rouge?"

Raven flew down as the three villains spoke to the couple. "—know why we're here. We want the woman," Monsieur Mallah said as Raven landed between the couple and the Brotherhood.

"Raven?" General Immortus said in a stunned tone. "The Teen Titans are here?"

Ignoring them, Raven muttered her trademark mantra and surrounded the couple with a magical shield. "Stay here," she instructed them as starbolts rained down from the skies.

Starfire arrived with two glowing orbs of starbolts on her hands. "The Brotherhood of Evil… why have you returned?" she demanded.

"That's none of your concern, Titan scum!" Mallah cried. Pointing towards the Tamaranian in the sky, he ordered the soldiers to fire at her.

"Not so fast, Mallah!" the gorilla heard as he was struck by a sonic cannon blast from behind. Falling down, he looked behind him to see Cyborg smiling and declaring, "Booyah."

"Imbeciles!" Mallah roared as he took out twin pistols and fired them at the cybernetic man. Cyborg carefully evaded them but was suddenly electrocuted by the Brain.

"Ah!" Cyborg cried while writhing on the ground in pain. "—the heck?"

"I would like to introduce you to my new upgrades, Cyborg," the Brain robotically said with a hint of glee in his voice. As he edged closer to the Titan, a contraption emerged from the Brain's body that transformed into a chainsaw. Cyborg struggled to get up but the pain from the electrocution was simply too much.

Just as the chainsaw was inches away from his neck, a birdarang latched itself onto the back of the Brain's body. Beeping three times, the birdarang created a small explosion that sent the Brain flying. Robin appeared on his motorcycle and revved into the scene as he immediately went to Cyborg's side. "You okay?" the Boy Wonder asked.

"I—I wanna say 'yeah'… but I'd be lying," Cyborg choked. "Must've been 500 or so volts… I probably wouldn't survive if I wasn't half robot…"

Robin nodded and let Cyborg rest on the ground, knowing that moving him would only cause more pain. He gritted his teeth as android soldiers approached them with electric swords—their guns, Robin assumed, were destroyed by Starfire and Raven. Robin knew fully well that if a single sword were to touch him, he'd be electrocuted and may not survive.

Taking a deep breath, he took out two birdarangs and combined them to create a birdarang sword. Swiftly making another sword for his other hand, he solemnly closed his eyes as if to recall all his training from Batman. "There is a flow in battle," the Dark Knight had taught him. "Learn the flow and run with it. Go against it and you will be defeated. Go with it and nothing can stop you."

The soldiers attacked. Robin swiftly parried the incoming attacks with one sword and quickly counterattacked with the other. Taking care to defend himself as well as Cyborg, Robin fought the android soldiers with sweat pouring down his forehead. As he almost became overwhelmed, the remaining soldiers were suddenly levitated in the air and crushed by a magical force. Looking over and seeing Raven with her hand outstretched, he thanked her as he helped Cyborg up.

"Can you move now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cyborg replied. "I don't think I can fight though. My systems may have short-circuited.

"It's fine. Go over to Raven and escort the couple somewhere safe."

"Roger." Cyborg nodded and ran over to the couple, protecting them with his body as he led them into the hotel.

With Raven no longer having to protect the couple, she could now fully participate in the battle. Chanting her mantra, the sorceress created a solid telekinetic construct similar to a large fist to crush the remaining robotic soldiers. Starfire and Robin, in the meantime were busy fighting Monsieur Mallah and General Immortus—the former wielding his twin pistols and the latter swinging an electric sword.

Raven panted with exhaustion as she finished off the last of the soldiers, unaware that the Brain was slowly creeping towards her with a taser weapon outstretched. "The cyborg could barely sustain a 500V charge," the Brain thought to himself. "Let us see how much an Azarathean can sustain a 750V charge."

Just as the Brain was about to electrocute Raven, a green blur knocked him back. Raven turned around as a green Bengal tiger bit and tore away the taser weapon off the Brain's mechanical pod. The tiger turned around to face Raven, as if to make sure she was okay, then sprinted towards the other Titans, leaping over Robin and Starfire and landing on Monsieur Mallah. The tiger clawed at the gorilla until the latter threw it off.

The tiger reverted back into human form as Beast Boy rubbed his head. "Beast Boy!" Raven cried as she ran to him to check if he was okay. The Brain, damaged as he was, crept closer to them and extended two helmet-like items from his body. "This may be the perfect chance to test my new creation," the Brain muttered as he stood behind the two Titans. The two helmets suddenly latched themselves onto Beast Boy and Raven's heads. They felt some kind of electric current flow through each of them as they yelled out and screamed in pain. They fell unconscious.

"Retreat!" the Brain shouted. Roaring with all his might, Mallah ran over and grabbed the Brain as he and General Immortus escaped into their helicopter. The chopper flew away as quickly as it had come, leaving behind five wounded Titans and several destroyed android soldiers.

…

Beast Boy felt incredibly dizzy and light-headed as he regained consciousness. "Whoa, dude…" he muttered. "So not cool." His vision cleared up and he saw Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire staring at him peculiarly. "Hey guys, let's go home, okay?" he said. "I'm tired and hungry and—well, I need a break from fighting bad guys. I'm craving some tofu pancakes right now, too."

"B—Beast Boy?" Starfire said curiously.

"Is that you?" Robin asked.

"Dude… what happened?" Cyborg gasped.

"What guys? What's the matter?" Beast Boy raised a hand to his mouth as he yawned. It wasn't until he pulled his hand away that he noticed it was completely gray. His eyes widened. "Wait—what the?" Looking around frantically, he had a panicked look on his face.

"Guys…" Beast Boy asked. "Where's—where's Raven?"

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Dat cliffhanger doe ;)**

**Hmmm... wonder what happens next?**

**Why is the Brotherhood of Evil back? What do they want? Who is the mysterious couple? Where is Madame Rouge? And most importantly... what just happened to Beast Boy and Raven? All...most...or at least _some_ of these questions will be answered next time!**

******Please REVIEW and tell me what you guys think. **:):)


	3. Mysterious Garden

**Chapter 3 is up! This is my last update before summer ends (well, before MY summer ends) so the rest of the story make come a bit slower. I'll try my best to keep it at one or two chapters a week, though. Thank you for you reviews, follows, and favorites. It really means a lot to me that I know how much you appreciate the story! :)**

** krikanalo - But but but... I wanted them to feel special. Maybe Titans East has always dreamed of having a 'The' before their name. D:**

** IshylovesGeorgeShelley - Thank you!**

** bluedog197 - LOL did you just make a Code Lyoko reference? I added a reference in here just for you! And interesting theory by the way... ;)**

** gabylokita41 - I see. Hope any of your problems get better, ya? I wouldn't say Beast Boy was 'hiding', more like he's been wandering around until he heard screams and fighting. By the time he arrived to join the battle it was nearly over. Good thing he came when he did, huh? As for Raven... you'll see ;)**

** tatsumarusmith - I'm not a fan of cliches, myself. I do love originality. Thankfully, this chapter... *wink***

** TeamBBLoki - You're back! Hope you enjoy this story. I think it'll be my best yet!**

** titanfan45 - Yes, sir it will! (Or ma'am... whichever one goes for you haha)**

**Caleb Jones - Thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter III - Mysterious Garden**

"Guys… Where's—where's Raven?"

The three Titans were silent as they stared uneasily at their friend.

"And why," he gulped. "Why am I… gray?"

"I think it's best we show you," Robin said as he helped Beast Boy up. The three Titans led the weak-legged Beast Boy into a hotel. Stumbling inside, they helped him walk towards a mirror, where he saw the horrible truth.

"Dude! What the freak happened to me?" Beast Boy shouted. "I'm—I'm—"

"Calm down, Beast Boy," Cyborg said.

"I'm—"

"Beast Boy…" Starfire said reassuringly.

"I'm—"

"Your head's burnt to a crisp. Deal with it!" Raven said from behind him. And indeed it was. Much of his hair was black and had a charcoal tint. His face was mostly black and most of his upper body was a scorched gray.

"How did this happen?" he cried.

"The Brain's machine thing must've been some kind of knock-out shock," Robin explained. "The shock was like an electrocution, but not enough to have killed you. It did burn your hair and skin though."

"Wait, how come Raven's not like this?"

"My hood and cloak protected me. It has magical properties that defends against fire and lightning," she said in her usual monotone. "Don't get too panicked about your new complexion. I'll work my magic and fix you up later." Turning towards the others, she told them, "I've magically examined the couple's bodies. They were shaken, but unharmed."

"Do you know why the Brotherhood targeted them?" Cyborg asked as Beast Boy whimpered at his own burned hair.

Raven shook her head. "No idea. Even the couple doesn't know." Turning back to glance at the couple, she continued, "Malcolm and Anna Crowe. Newly wedded. They thanked us and wanted us to stay here. They offered to pay for all five of us to stay at this resort for three days as a way of saying thanks."

"Tell him we refuse," Robin said immediately. "The five of us at a paradise resort as big as this? That's not cheap."

"He said he won't take no for an answer. And he also said he's very wealthy."

A smile cracked on Cyborg's face. "Aww, come on Bird-boy. You can't say no to that! Three-day paradise resort vay-cay? Count me in!"

"Oh yes, absolutely!" Starfire chimed in. "That sounds lovely!"

"Sweet. I'm in!" Beast Boy interjected. "…as long as my hair and face is fixed." He resumed picking at the ashes in his scalp.

"What about you, Raven?"

The sorceress sighed and answered monotonously, "Three days of loud, annoying people running around doing whatever they want, constantly bumping into me and interrupting my meditation all day and all night? How could I possibly resist…?"

"Then it's settled!" Robin exclaimed with a clap of his hands. "This may be a bit unorthodox for us but Titans, we're going on vacation!"

…

Beast Boy stared at the mirror in his new hotel room as he poked his face curiously. "Ow!" he said as he touched a particularly painful area. "Stupid Brain…" he grumbled. "I liked him better when he didn't have any weapons."

A knock on the door. "It's Raven," came soon after.

The changeling went over and opened the door, allowing his fellow Titan to walk inside. "Nice place," Raven muttered absentmindedly. "You guys have a balcony, too. Only one bed?" she said in a surprised tone. "I understand why Starfire and I only need one bed but three fully grown men?" Hastily, she added, "Or rather, two fully grown men and you."

"Ha ha, very funny," Beast Boy replied. "It has a nice view so one bed will be fine. Cyborg and I will sleep on it and Robin will sleep on the chair. He said Batman's trained him to sleep anywhere so he's perfectly comfortable."

"I see," she replied. "Speaking of Robin, he's contacted Batman. The Dark Knight asked us to pay close attention to the Crowe's. Protect them if anything happens to them."

"Really? Great. More work."

"Lie on the bed and I'll begin the healing process." He obeyed without delay. Standing next to his face, Raven told him to close his eyes and relax his face as she placed her hands above him. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She moved her hands and intricately waved her fingers as if she was molding a clay pot, swaying them back and forth across Beast Boy's upper body from the top of his hair to his abdomen. Beast Boy felt a warm, soothing sensation flow across his body as he was being healed. Glancing down at his arm, he both felt and saw the grayness washing away. The burnt feeling in his hair evaporated as it felt soft and ruffled as it once was. Raven's hands stopped swaying and began a different motion, waving her hands back and forth in a line. The gentle heat on his body intensified and abruptly transformed into a cooling numbness. A wave of goosebumps rippled throughout his skin until finally the coolness disappeared.

"It's done," Raven said as she examined her work, evidently pleased as she wore a tiny smile on her face.

"Wow, that fast?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "That must've been only five minutes!"

"I placed an acute time-lapse spell on you. It was actually half an hour," Raven explained, but stopping once she saw that he paid no attention. Instead, the boy—green once again—jumped from the bed and rushed towards the nearest mirror. Examining his newly reformed skin, he felt it meticulously with his fingers as if he was caressing a newborn baby. A wide grin lit his face. "It's perfect! Absolutely amazing!"

Raven nodded a thanks and proceeded to wordlessly walk out of the room. "Hey wait!" Beast Boy said, grabbing her arm before she left. "You aren't going to just go back to your room are you?"

"Why not? I have to meditate. And there's nothing for me here anyway."

"Dude, it's a resort! We're on a vacation!" he protested. "Come on, there's a beach, a forest, a mountain—everything! There's gotta be something here you'd enjoy doing!"

"I'm not exactly a resort-y… or vacation-y person," she stated.

"Think of it as my way of repaying you. 'Beast Boy and Raven's Day of Fun'. How does that sound?"

"It sounds even more fun than a root canal."

"Trust me, you'll have a great time. And if you're too annoyed by me, you can always go somewhere with Starfire or the others. Point is you have to get outside!" Playfully, he added, "Sunlight is good for your skin. I don't know about you but that gray complexion isn't getting you noticed by any boys."

Raven glared at him. She relented, "Fine!" as she rolled her eyes. "But if you annoy me too much I will not hesitate to send you to another dimension for a while."

"Deal!" A large smile exploded on his face as he immediately grabbed Raven's arm and hauled her down the elevator and out the door of the hotel. As he dragged her towards the Andern theme park, she silently prayed to Azar to give her the strength to survive the day.

…

The Dark Knight sat on his chair as an enormous television screen inside the Batcave flashed to life. The words "Incoming Transmission" lit the screen before it flashed to the image of a young woman in a blue cloak. The woman nodded in respect. "Batman," she said.

"Raven," he nodded back. He heard a voice call from behind Raven, "Where are you?"

"I'm using the restroom!" she shouted back. Turning back towards Batman, she apologized. "This was the only way I could get in touch with you privately," she said.

"I see."

"Dick told me this was the best time to contact you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"It's—my butler's birthday, but it's fine. The party hasn't started yet. What is it that you need, Raven?"

"Dick told me that you've asked us to keep a close watch on Malcolm and Anna Crowe, is that right?"

"It is. I've discreetly arranged for them to move to Jump City after their vacation. I need you five to watch over them continuously."

"If that's the case, sir, then I'd like to know what is so special about them."

"They are in danger," Batman replied simply. "They need to be protected."

"With all due respect, sir," she said firmly. "You know what I mean. What is _special_ about them?"

"Excuse me?"

"When I examined them for injuries, my empathic powers sensed something _different_ about them. I couldn't place exactly what it was or who it was. But there definitely was something very peculiar about the Crowe's. I didn't tell the other Titans yet because I wanted to inform you first. There is something very special about the Crowe's. I was going to tell you that. But then I figured… you already knew that, haven't you?" The masked man was silent. "Why would you have us protect them so closely like this? They were from Gotham City. If they were in any danger, you could've had Batgirl or the other Robin take care of them. Or if anything, you could've sent them to Titans East to watch and protect, since Steel City is so much closer to Gotham than Jump City. But you had sent them to us, all the way across the country. It makes me wonder, why would you send them to us? Because you know our capabilities. You know what I can do, what Beast Boy can do, what Starfire and Cyborg can do, and most importantly what Robin can do. You know that. You sent us to protect them because we are the only ones that can. Maybe even you had set up the Crowe's coming here, too. Maybe you know why Madame Rouge is missing. My point is there is something very special about them and you know what the Brotherhood wants. If you want us to protect them, we need to know what it is."

Batman stared at her with unblinking eyes. "You are much smarter than you appear, Raven," he said. "I only wish Robin was as keen as you." Sighing, he explained, "Here is the truth, Raven. Two years ago, they were involved in an accident near a nuclear reactor. Malcolm was struck in the head. After the accident, he was tested and placed in trauma care but was declared relatively unharmed. Anna, however, was not as lucky. She absorbed a heavy amount of radiation that caused cellular degeneration. Her body is slowly collapsing on itself, starting with her brain. The cellular degeneration courses through her veins like a disease and is slowly eating away at her brain like a tumor. As of now, it has been very slow. It's been two years since then and she has shown little damage, only a few instances of mental insanity."

"Insanity?"

"Only a few relapses. The Brotherhood of Evil, in my opinion, wish to capture her to somehow extract the cellular degeneration from her blood and mutate it to make it fast-acting. Somehow they wish to create a weapon from it. Imagine the possibilities—a weapon that can cause instant cellular degeneration."

"That sounds like the Brotherhood."

"That is why I need the Teen Titans to protect them. The Brotherhood of Evil cannot get their hands on her. I need you to watch over them until scientists are able to reverse the cellular degeneration. I am trying my best to find one as well. And as for Madame Rouge, I believe she may be working undercover. The ability to shape shift and take other people's form is incredibly dangerous so be careful, okay?"

"I see. Thank you for telling me."

"I am sorry, Raven. I should have told you five beforehand."

"We won't disappoint you, sir. We will protect the Crowe's."

The Dark Knight nodded. "Batman out."

The screen flickered to black.

Raven put her communicator back and walked out the bathroom. "What took you so long?" Beast Boy said.

"Whatever, let's just go," she said in a bored expression. Noticing that the Crowe's were at a hot dog stand nearby, Raven caught a glimpse of them. They were both happy. Smiling. Laughing. The sorceress cocked her head slightly to one side. Malcolm Crowe looked up and made eye contact with Raven. Anna looked up and followed her husband's line of sight. She, too, made eye contact with her.

Raven shuddered.

Beast Boy pulled her away.

For some odd reason, she felt as if there was something else about them, something that perhaps even Batman did not know. Some very strange.

…

The day proceeded with Beast Boy dragging Raven around the entirety of Andern Falls, from the mountains to the beach to the theme park. At one point in the theme park, Beast Boy won Raven a stuffed unicorn toy, to which she replied flatly, "It's so fluffy, I'm going to die."

Years later, Beast Boy had assumed Raven had thrown the toy away the day she got it. It wasn't until he found it next to her bed that he realized she had kept it all these years.

Another time, they were about to attend a magic show until Beast Boy recognized the magician as an ex-con whom he had encountered and fought while in the Doom Patrol. Realizing that he couldn't let the man see him, Raven cast a temporary spell on him, giving Beast Boy the appearance of a man with cream colored skin and dark red hair. When the magician picked Beast Boy as a volunteer, the changeling quickly made up a name to hide his identity as a former Doom Patrol member. Raven laughed slightly as she watched him make up a name on the spot. For the next hour until the spell wore off, she referred to Beast Boy as the name he had made—Mr. Jeremy Rousseau.

After several hours, Beast Boy pushed his way across a crowd of people, calling out Raven's name. "Raven? Raven? Where is she?" he grumbled. "She was just here... How'd I lose her?" Pushing through flocks of tourists, he eventually found a girl with short, dark hair. "Raven! There you are!" he exclaimed as he placed his hands on the girl. She turned around.

Beast Boy came face to face with a young Japanese girl around his age. "Whoops!" he said, blushing. "My bad."

She smiled warmly. "It's alright."

"Who's that, Yumi?" a shorter blonde haired boy with large glasses said as Beast Boy walked away.

"It's nothing, Jeremie. He had the wrong person. Where did you say Ulrich was?"

Beast Boy continued walking along until he bumped into his fellow Titans.

"Have you guys seen Raven?" Beast Boy asked them. The three Titans looked at him in surprise.

"She wasn't with you?" Cyborg said.

"No, I lost her. I have no idea where she is."

"We haven't seen her," Robin replied. "Have you tried checking her communicator?"

"I did," Beast Boy said. "There's no signal."

"No signal? That can't be—" he took out his own communicator and tried to contact Raven. There was nothing but static. "Raven! Raven!" He sighed and realized Beast Boy was telling the truth.

"Perhaps Raven had lost her communicator somehow?" Starfire wondered.

"Well this IS Raven we're talking about here," Cyborg muttered. "So what if she's lost? She can fly, can't she? AND have we forgotten all her other powers? She can make her way to Hell and back without a scratch. There's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, you're right," Beast Boy sighed. "Still I can't help but—" An ear-piercing scream from the communicator interrupted his sentence. His heart skipped a beat. "Raven?" he said as he fumbled open his communicator. "Raven, is that you? Are you okay?"

Another scream. Beast Boy looked up at the other Titans. Their eyes were wide open. "Raven's in trouble!" he said to them.

Robin opened his communicator and yelled into it. "Raven! Raven, is that you? Can you hear me? Raven!" There was no reply.

"Something is wrong," Starfire said. "We must find Raven!"

"It's almost dark, too!" Cyborg said as he rubbed his temples. This was the second time in two days that they had to search for a missing Titan. "I'll go inform the police that she's missing."

"I shall go search in the mountains," Starfire said before flying off.

"I'll check the theme park and the hotel," Robin said.

"Wait, where do I go?" Beast Boy said frantically.

"Uh, check in the forest," came the reply as Robin boarded his R-Cycle.

"The—the forest? You mean the creepy forest full of who-knows-what?"

"They're called animals, Grass Stain," Cyborg replied. "Surely you know of them."

"It's gonna be dark, too... Ugh, why me?" Beast Boy complained. Transforming into an eagle, he flew into the skies and soared towards the forest. "Stupid Raven," he thought. "How does a superhero get lost like that? Making me go in a forest. A dark and creepy forest." He suddenly recalled her scream and shuddered. Remembering that Raven might be in danger, he quickly forgot all his complaints and flew as fast as he could towards the forest.

Reverting back into human form near the edge of the dark forest, Beast Boy immediately felt a prick of fear trail down his spine. "R—Raven!" he called. There was no response except for a the rustling of leaves. "Raven! Where are you?" he called again. "Raven? Raven!" He continued calling her name as he went deeper and deeper into the woods. "Yo! Raven! Raven the Rockhead! Rockhead Raven?" he sighed in frustration. Where could she be?

Deeper and deeper into the forest he went, continuously calling out her name until his throat hurt. After about fifteen minutes, Beast Boy began shivering, not from the cold air but from the creepiness of the forest. He jumped every time an owl hooted or a bird flew towards him or a rabbit grazed his foot. Beast Boy's brisk walk slowed down into fearful lurch as he felt a shadow approach him. He had the prickly sensation that he was being watched, that there was something—or someone—behind him. Shivering and sweating in fear, he slowly turned around, eyes forcibly shut. Facing the shadow, he slowly opened his eyes, ready to face death.

"Raven!" he shouted as he instantly bounced forth and hugged her. "Dude you scared me so much! Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Shaking off his fear and laughing that he felt scared at all, Beast Boy looked up at her to see a red rock of a face glaring at him.

"Get. Off. Of. Me."

He gulped. "Yes ma'am." He instantly obeyed and dusted off his outfit. "Phew! It's a good thing you're safe and sound." His smile suddenly turned into a frown. "Wait a sec! You're fine!" Pointing an accusatory finger at Raven, he said, "How come you're here? We were all worried sick about you! We thought you were in danger!"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "There's no signal here. I couldn't contact you guys."

"Why are you here in the first place?"

"Well you were latched on to me like a little parasite so I decided to walk into the forest a bit. I got off the trail and I got lost."

"Yeah, right. Why did you stay here? You could've just flown out. You're a superhero!"

"I sensed a presence here so I stayed. I figured maybe one of the tourists got lost. I stayed in here to try to find anyone who was lost and help them. Eventually I _did_ find a lost tourist. He turned out to be you."

Beast Boy raised his finger as if to bring up another point. "Wait, so why did you scream into your communicator? We thought you were in danger."

"Scream?" Raven raised an eyebrow from under her hood. "I never screamed."

"Yeah, you did! We all heard a scream—two screams!—come from our communicators. And it was your voice."

"Beast Boy," she replied calmly. "Look at me. Am I a scream-y person? At all?"

He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it as he realized how right she was. Raven never screamed. "But then… who was that?" he wondered aloud. Raven taciturnly began walking and was followed by an anxious Beast Boy. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"The guide said there was a small restaurant inside the forest, right? A rest stop for tourists. I can sense it nearby. If we find it, we'll be able to find a trail leading back outside."

"Why don't we just fly out now?" he asked.

"I'm hungry. Aren't you?" she said simply. "Why don't we stop and eat before we leave?"

"Uh, alright sure. I'm starving!" Beast Boy smiled as he walked alongside his blue-cloaked friend.

Raven rolled her eyes. It was almost pitiful how gullible Beast Boy was. That was one of the worst lies she had ever crafted and yet he still bought it. When she and Beast Boy had been walking down a nearby trail with the other tourists, she had slipped away and walked into the forest. She had seen the Crowe's walk into the forest and followed them but eventually lost their track. After about an hour of searching for the Crowe's, she had given up and was prepared to leave. But something else was drawing her deeper into the forest. She couldn't tell what it was but she felt like she wanted to stay longer. She decided to go just a little bit further before giving up and flying back outside.

Then she had bumped into Beast Boy. Now, the feeling that made her stay was still there, and she wanted to stay just a bit longer to find out what it was. Eventually the two came to an area filled with smoke. Beast Boy coughed as he waved the smoke away, revealing a rabbit skull hanging from a tree branch by a string. He jumped back in shock. Raven ignored him and kept on walking. The smoky fog started to clear, revealing to them a small, wooden house. It seemed dilapidated and falling apart; the paint on its wood was chipped and old. There were many animal carcasses hanging from the trees and scattered on the ground, not to mention live chickens and a stray black cat clucking and hissing as they walked around the area. There were bells that clinked rather than chimed and a great black pot boiling just outside the house. There was a large sign crudely written with white paint—"WELC ME TO MYST RIOUS GARDEN"—with the 'O' and the 'E' faded and gone.

"This must be the restaurant," Raven said calmly. She was a little disgusted with the sight. What kind of resort has a restaurant like this? It was strange—she half-expected some kind of magical sight. Shrugging it off, she decided to go eat inside the restaurant anyway, as Beast Boy looked famished and she was a bit hungry, herself. She led Beast Boy inside. He had resumed his fearful shivering once again.

"This place is creepy with a capital 'C'," he said as they walked into the restaurant. It was more a vacant cabin with tables and chairs than a restaurant. "Hello?" he called. "Anyone here?" There was no response. He saw that Raven was casually walking around the room, examining the strange items that were strewn around the shelves—mounted animals that were the victims of taxidermy, strange contraptions, record-players and clocks that looked like they were created in the eighteenth century, talismans, voo-doo dolls, among other things. Most appealing to the two Titans were strangely shaped bottles of various colors. Raven carefully reached up, wrapped her fingers delicately around a red bottle with a mouth shaped like a bird's beak, and pulled it down. "Rosé wine?" she mumbled. "How nice. It must taste great."

"Rose Petal wine," a voice called. The two Titans instantly turned around and saw a dark man with a sullen face. He had smooth black but graying hair with a receding hairline, and eyes that squinted under twin bushy eyebrows. He had small lips that rested above a stubble on his chin and bore a scar across his left cheek. He was dressed as a chef, but his clothes were brown rather than white due undoubtedly to years of hard work. His arms were large with a few strands of hair on his forearm and his legs were equally as strong. He spoke with a slight French accent with a deep voice reminiscent of a cello. "Not rosé," he repeated. "Rose Petal wine."

"Rose Petal?" Raven said. "Sounds interesting."

"Oh, it is," the man said simply.

"Um… Actually we were just leaving! Hehe…" Beast Boy said. Nudging towards Raven, he whispered, "Let's get outta here, Rae. We can eat at the hotel. I don't really want to—"

"Boiled chicken soup is $10. Braised is $15," the cook said sternly as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Chicken?" Beast Boy said worriedly. "Sorry, but I don't really eat—I mean unless you have something else, then I'm afraid we'll have to go—"

The chef threw a large butcher knife he was holding onto the ground, causing both Titans to jump. It stuck out of the ground in an unsightly manner. "You can also do half and half," he said curtly before walking back out.

Raven and Beast Boy looked at each other with the same disconcerted expression. "We're in for some dinner," she said monotonously. He agreed as they sat down together.

…

Moments after they ordered, the cook returned with a pot of boiling chicken and two bowls. He placed the bowls before the two customers and the pot in between them. Beast Boy looked down into his bowl as the cook poured some soup into it. It was a yellow-ish soup with a couple vegetables—he spotted a slice of carrot, a few beans here and there, an asparagus, and some seaweed. The cook then placed a serving of chicken into the bowl. He grimaced, silently praying for the soul of the chicken that lay before him. Raven semi-eagerly raised her bowl as she anticipated the same treatment, but was surprised to see the cook give Beast Boy another serving of chicken. Then another. Finally it was Raven's turn as she said politely, "It looks delicious." She only got one serving.

Before the cook left, he began curiously examining Beast Boy. "You… why are you green?" he asked unceremoniously.

"Oh…" Beast Boy said. "It's because I had this virus in me when I was a little boy. It's a life-threatening one called Sakutia. My parents managed to develop a cure that caused me to be green."

"Is it… dangerous?"

"It's dormant."

"Oh good," the cook said. "You… you're not sick or anything, are you? No cancer? No leukemia?"

"Um… no." He eyed the chef suspiciously and saw that Raven was doing the same.

"Of course not. You're a superhero after all." This elicited a surprised look on both Titans' faces. "Eat well," the chef said. "That's from my heart."

He then turned towards Raven. "Miss…?"

"Raven," she answered.

"Raven, ah what a nice name," the chef said. He gave her a hint of a warm smile. "Raven… It's nice to see you."

"Uh… Nice to meet you," Raven said, trying her best to sound natural. "You—uh—you must like making wine."

"Oh this?" the cook looked behind her and examined the differently colored bottles. "It's more of a necessity than a hobby," he said. Pointing towards each one, he named them out loud. "Rose Petal wine, White Crystal wine, Emerald Water wine, Lotus Flower wine…"

"Strange names," she muttered.

"They're… medicinal wines," the man said with a lowered voice. "Medicinal wines… for my daughter."

"Your daughter? Is she sick?"

The man looked down at Raven, locking their eyes together. Looking straight at Raven's face, almost _through_ her face, the man said with a cold voice, "That seems to be her fate."

Raven blinked. The man left them wordlessly. Raven and Beast Boy shared a glance before they began eating their food.

…

"Yeah, we just arrived at the hotel. We'll be up there any second now," Beast Boy said to his communicator. "Alright, Robin." He placed the communicator back into his pocket as he and Raven walked out of the taxi, which had brought them to the hotel after they left the forest. "Why'd you accept those?" he asked, pointing to two red bottles of wine in Raven's hands.

"They were a gift," she said. "An adult offered them so I took it. It's called manners. Something you clearly lack."

"How do I lack manners?"

"You didn't even touch your chicken. Didn't you see that look the chef gave you when he saw you only eating soup and vegetables?"

"I don't eat meat, you know that! I've been chickens before!"

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. She handed one bottle to Beast Boy. "Here," she said. "A thank-you gift."

"'Thank-you gift'?" he asked as he took the red bottle. "Thank you for what?"

"For coming to save me," Raven said simply. "I wasn't in any danger, but thanks anyway. And thanks for dragging me out of the hotel to have some… fun."

He smiled. "Sure thing, but I'd rather not drink anything with unknown origins."

"Beast Boy, just go and grow a pair. It's not every day I give you a thank-you gift so just take it."

"Fine!" he stuck out his tongue. "Rose Petal wine. Wonder what it tastes like…?" His eyebrows shot up. "Wait a second, this is alcohol! We're not allowed to have alcohol!"

"We're eighteen," Raven replied as they entered the hotel and entered the elevator. "We're legally adults. Isn't that enough?"

"You're supposed to be twenty-one, Raven!"

"Unless you've forgotten, we're in France," Raven said. "The legal drinking age is eighteen. Which is why the chef sold it to us because he knew we were eighteen. And besides, it's medicinal wine. It's good for you."

"Good to know you enjoy buffing yourself up with alcohol…" he muttered as the elevator doors closed and began its trek up.

"All I'm saying is," she said as she left. "Take the present and go, okay? Don't be such a—such a "Beast Boy" and take it. Drink it or not, it's your choice. But you've never had alcohol before so might as well try it now, right?"

"I guess…" he said. "Wait, you've had alcohol?"

"I'm Azarathean. We drink wine like it's water."

"You are some girl…"

"Strangely, I'm more of a man than you."

"Come on…"

"Hey, not my fault you're… a Beast Boy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's nothing," she said.

"No really… what does that mean?"

"Well, you—you're Beast Boy. You're the quirky, weird, immature kid of the team."

"What?" he said, his hurt eyes betraying his calm expression.

"You're like our Steve Urkel," she said, not realizing she was insulting him. "Or our Joey Tribbiani."

Beast Boy's eyebrows lowered. "Well, it's better than being the creepy witch everyone's scared of," he fired back. "That's like—like Ursula or the Wicked Witch of the West."

Raven glared at him horribly and slapped him across the face. "I'm a what?" she cried as the elevator door opened. "A—a witch?" Beast Boy was silent. "You know who else called me a witch?" she demanded. "Terra. When she betrayed us to Slade she called me a witch." She immediately walked out, but not before giving him a cold stare and saying, "It's funny. You two must be meant for each other. You two think the exact same way."

"What's Terra got to do with this?" he said. "That's what you always do, isn't it? Every time I get close to you, you have to insult me and walk away! It's always like this!"

"Insult you?" Raven hissed. "I was just trying to make a joke. I didn't realize that you'd be offended by the fact that you're always the one who's never serious! If you were maybe a tiny bit responsible or adult-like, you'd get some respect. It was just a joke so forget it!"

"You think it's funny to make fun of me? Fine. But just remember you're the one who's always locked up inside your room thinking you're better than everyone. You're the one who always yells at me when I take something and then refuse to explain to me why that's so important because 'I wouldn't understand'. Even the one time I tried to understand you, you still screamed at me." His blood was boiling. "You know what's the difference between you and everyone else? If it weren't for the Teen Titans, I'd still have the Doom Patrol, Starfire'd still have Tamaran, Cyborg would still have his dad, and Robin would still have Batman. And you? You have no one. If it weren't for the Teen Titans, you wouldn't even have any friends!" The doors closed before him as Raven marched furiously down the hall.

Angrily kicking the elevator, he cursed under his breath. "That Raven…" he muttered. As the doors slid open on the floor above, he walked out, clutching the Rose Petal wine in his hand. Opening the door to his room, he walked inside. Cyborg was fast asleep on the bed while Robin was sitting on the chair with his head down. The latter raised his hand and waved slightly as Beast Boy walked towards him. He was probably going to be asleep within a few minutes, Beast Boy thought.

The changeling walked out onto the balcony of his hotel room, sitting peacefully on a chair and placing the wine on the table. "You want me to grow a pair?" he said to no one in particular. "Fine, I'll drink it. I'll drink the whole thing and show you how much of a man I can be." He unscrewed the bird-shaped top and smelled the wine warily. It smelled just like fresh roses.

On the balcony of the room just below his own sat Raven. "That little Beast Boy," she grumbled. "Freaking… annoying little worm. How dare he say those things about me? She eyed her wine. "Rose Petal wine," she said to herself. "Maybe you'll help me forget today. I wonder if you're as good as the wine on Azarath." She unscrewed the top and smelled the delicious liquor.

Both Titans slowly brought the bottles to their lips and drank the wine.

…

That night as they slept, a mysterious thunder roared and a gust of wind howled though no lightning could be seen. Beast Boy's loud snoring and awkward body position suddenly ceased as he slowly moved himself into a regular sleeping position. In the room under him, Raven's body slowly spread to odd positions and she started snoring with one of her feet poking out from the blanket.

The next morning, Raven slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a large mechanical man snoring before her. "C—Cyborg?" she thought, not yet fully awake. "What's Cyborg doing on my bed?" Closing her eyes once again, she thought, "What a weird dream."

Beast Boy's eyes peeled open as he felt an arm wrapped around his midsection. "What the?" he thought, peering through the mess of red hair. "Is that Starfire? Why is Starfire hugging me? Whoa, this is some sweet dream."

Raven opened her eyes once again. "This dream feels so real," she thought. "Better wake up and meditate now." She closed her eyes and opened them. Nothing happened. She tried again. She couldn't wake up. She tried pinching her nose and mouth shut. She still didn't wake. "What the…?" Raven thought. "Am I—"

Beast Boy placed his hands on Starfire's arm and carefully placed it off his body. "Whoa…" he thought. "My pecs are huge! Finally my workouts paid off." Gently placing his hands on them, he noticed how soft they were. "Wait…" he thought. "Am I—"

Raven jumped up off the bed and bumped into a nightstand. "What the?" she said as she looked around and saw Cyborg and Robin in her room. She looked at her green arms and felt her body, making her way down to her groin section. Her eyes widened.

Beast Boy jumped off his bed and examined his clothes and gray skin. He felt his waist, his face, and his chest. His eyes widened.

Two screams filled the hotel. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**NOW they're switched, nice and proper. Sorry about tricking you guys into they were switched in the last chapter. I couldn't resist ;) Please don't kill me... Some of the questions from the last chapter were answered only for more to appear! Who was that mysterious chef in the woods? The world may never know... Well, it will eventually.**

**REVIEW and tell me who YOU think it is! Hint: He's not an original character... Hint Hint: He _may_ be in disguise...**


	4. Switched

**School's sucking the life and soul out of me, guys. And it's only week 1. Hope your week's been a lot better than mine. Enough on the downer side though! You guys are begging for answers, I bet? Then read on, read on, read on!**

** titanfan45 - You're right! I imagine it'd be VERY unnerving. Good thing stuff like that only happens in movies... and FanFiction.**

** BizkitRebellion - They were in France! I can't help it! It was just too good! ;)**

** RJay Fame - Madame Rouge, eh? Hmm... Interesting hypothesis...**

** Cheshire cat - Haha, just the kind of thing Beast Boy would say, right? I wonder how he's liking his new... "parts".**

** LurkingShadowWillow - Thanks! This chapter was more focused on them finding out what happened. The next will feature them adjusting to their new life... and other "new" things if you know what I mean ;)**

** tacocat15 - YES! Haha, the story's just kicking off! I have plenty more drama, action, mystery, and a little bit o' funnies in store! :D**

** Soulfulbard - How could they be in France and I don't add a single reference to Code Lyoko? I used to love that show so much! Way back when I actually thought of making a CL fanfic... But I ended it before it happened because who knows how that might've turned out. I vaguely remember the story I had... something about XANA being reborn and the Lyoko gang finding a digital program that contained Franz Hopper's digital personality. XANA makes a digital, enhanced version of William and in the end, the two Williams fight while Aelita tries to sacrifice herself to destroy XANA like her father did. In the end, Franz Hopper's digital self takes her place and XANA dies... again... Looking back on that it, I think it was a horrible idea...**

** Bluedog197 - Thumbs up for Code Lyoko! Haha, yes it was one of my favorite shows years ago. I once thought of doing a CL fanfic years ago... see above for more info. Also, very interesting theories you have about the strange cook. I won't say if you're right or not but I have to say you have a good, imaginative mind! :)**

** IshylovesGeorgeShelley - Thanks! Hope you enjoy it!**

** Guest - I certainly hope Robin and Cyborg aren't THAT mean... At least in my world they're not, haha. Read on to find out what happens!**

** willwork4donuts - Easy? Not everything's what it seems, especially in my stories. A good number of people have guessed that but I won't say if you got it right. Read on to find out, ya! :)**

** krikanalo - The Titans East thanks you. Metamorpho? That's a very imaginative guess. I've heard a lot of guesses but not that. Interesting...**

** gabylokita41 - Raven and Beast Boy are an interesting duo, aren't they? They'll sure hate the torture I'm planning for them :)**

** shugokage - Thanks a lot! Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Chapter IV - Switched**

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What? What happened?" Cyborg and Robin both jumped up in unison.

Raven's jaw hung on its hinge as her eyes shot from Cyborg to Robin, back to Cyborg, then to her horribly green arms, then to Robin, then to the increasingly unnerving presence in the area between her legs. She opened her mouth and struggled to form words, only make a small, "aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh…" sound. She quickly ran out of the room, stumbling on her own green legs. As she left, Robin and Cyborg looked at each other. "What's up with Beast Boy?" the former asked.

Cyborg shrugged. "He probably had some stupid nightmare. Dreamt he ate a hamburger on accident or something."

In the room below, Beast Boy was making the same reaction, albeit in a more panicked manner. "What's going on, what's going on, what's going on?" he shouted frantically. He then covered his own mouth as he heard how different his voice sounded.

"What is it?" a groggy Starfire mumbled. "What is the matter, Raven?"

"Raven?!" he burst out. He looked at his arms again, then ran towards the mirror. It was then that he saw—in his reflection stood not himself, but a young woman with gray skin, short, indigo hair, and a black leotard. "I'm—" he gasped. "No… no, no no!" He jumped as a lamp suddenly exploded. The curtains started flying as if blown by a massive gust of wind.

Starfire fell off her bed in shock. "Raven, what are you doing?" she cried.

"No! I'm not Raven! I'm—I'm—" He slowly made his way to the door and leaned against it, struggling to keep his balance. What was going on? He suddenly felt the door melt away as he fell through a portal he had inadvertently created. Landing with a _thud_ into the hallway of the hotel, he saw with horror as a black hole in the door slowly closed itself. He yelped and jumped up, running towards the elevator. He fell twice, not used to the difference between his legs and… Raven's… legs.

When he finally reached the elevator, he began pressing the button many times. "Come on, come on," he kept repeating. Sparks suddenly flew from the elevator button as the light above the elevator door came off. "Come on, you useless thing!" he cried, running towards the stairs.

In the stairs above, Raven feverishly pressed the elevator button, only to find that it suddenly became out of order. Grunting, she ran towards the stairs. Pushing door to the stairway open, she ran down as fast as she could, not knowing where to go, only trying to run away. She came to the floor beneath her and was about to keep going until the door suddenly burst opened and she collided headfirst into a girl.

The two rolled down a flight of stairs, exchanging "Ows!" and "Ohs!" and "Arghs!" until they came to a complete stop. As both recovered from their fall, they glanced at each other and jumped back nearly ten feet.

"You!" both cried, pointing at each other accusingly.

"You're—" Beast Boy said. "Why I'm I looking at myself?"

"Who—who are you," Raven returned. "Who are you? Why do I see my own body?"

"R—Raven?"

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"It's… it's me. Beast Boy."

"Beast—Beast Boy?" she gasped. "What's—what's going on? Why… why am I green?"

"Because… you're… me…"

"That's impossible!" she cried. "What's going on?"

"Raven! I'm you and—and you're me! Is… is that right?"

"Oh—oh my God. Is that really you, Beast Boy?" Raven stammered.

"Yeah…" Beast Boy said cautiously. His eyes lowered. "O—kay… What kind of trick are you pulling on me, Raven?"

"What—me?!"

"What we get into a little fight and you decide to switch our bodies?"

"What, you think I did this?"

"Well DUH. You're the only one with magic powers, right?"

"Beast Boy. I didn't do this."

"Yeah, right. This is some sick joke you have, Raven."

"Beast Boy," she said, grabbing his shoulders—or rather, her shoulders. "I promise I'm not doing this."

Beast Boy licked his lips and sighed as he accepted it. "Alright," he said. "But how—how did this happen. How are you in my body and I'm… in your body?"

"Oh my God," Raven repeated. "Oh my God, oh my God…"

"Ahhh!" he shouted, clutching two handfuls of hair. "I'm a girl!"

"How did this happen?" Raven placed her hand on her forehead.

Beast Boy shouted, "Oh my God, we've switched bodies. What do we do? Raven! We'll never get our bodies back!"

"Beast Boy, calm down!" Raven said. "You can't panic!"

"Um, helloooooo? We switched bodies! Out of nowhere! This is the perfect time to panic!" he answered, feverishly waving his arms.

"No, you can't! My powers are controlled by emotions. If you panic and let your emotions get too out of hands, my powers will go haywire and probably destroy this entire building. I bet it was my overexcited powers that caused the elevator break down. You have to calm down."

"I—I can't calm down!"

"Take deep breaths, Beast Boy," she said, placing her hands on his shoulders and staring into his eyes. "Calm down," she instructed. "Calm… down." The boy's breathing slowed down and his body stopped shivering. "Alright, good."

"What do we do now?" Beast Boy examined his arms and legs. "Are we dreaming?" he wondered aloud.

"No," Raven shook her head. "This—this is just like that time with the Puppet King, remember? Back then, Starfire and I switched bodies. Now it's me and—and you." she added the last two words with a hint of grimace.

"Does this mean the Puppet King's here?"

"No… I don't think so. It could be anybody! Maybe it was the Brotherhood of Evil. Maybe it's Rift."

"Dude, you're naming three different people here. Which is it?"

"I'm using them as an example!" Raven said frustratingly. "It _could_ be anyone, okay?"

"…We have to tell the others," Beast Boy said, starting back towards the door.

"No!" Raven suddenly said, grabbing Beast Boy's arm. "We shouldn't!"

"Why not? They have to know. What if they get switched, too?"

"We can't, Beast Boy! If whoever did this to us wanted to switch all five of us, they would've done it last night!"

"So what?"

"So? I'm saying maybe, just maybe, they're doing this to mess us up. Get us all worried so we won't do well. Maybe they're trying to distract us from protecting the Crowe's."

"I think the two of us will be distracted enough because we're not in our own bodies!"

"Look, I know there's something really dangerous targeting the Crowe's," Raven explained. "The Brotherhood's after them and maybe other people are, too. All five of us have to be on full alert. If we tell the other three that we've switched bodies, they'll get too worried and won't let us do anything. They'll force us to go on a 'break' until we switch back. This means there will be two less people to protect the Crowe's and fight any villains while the three that remain will be too busy worrying about how we got switched. Don't you see? We'd only hurt them if we tell them now!"

"What, you think it's fine for us to keep it a secret forever?"

"I'm saying to keep it a secret for now!" Raven sighed. "For now… let's not tell the others. When we've switched back or when we really have to, then we'll tell them. But for now, let's keep it a secret, okay? Just be yourself."

"I can't really do that, now can I?" Beast Boy pointed out. "I have to act like you. And you… have to act like me."

"Oh my God," Raven said, suddenly jumping up and walking in circles. "You're right."

"I mean it's easy for me," Beast Boy shrugged. "All I have to do is act quiet and depressing. You're the one who has it hard. You have to actually _socialize_ and _interact_ with people. Oooh, two of your least favorite words!"

"Shut. Up," Raven glared as she kept on walking in circles. "Let's get out of here for now. We should keep some space between us and the others until we figure this thing out." She began jumping up and down.

"Are… you okay?" Beast Boy asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Why are you walking around and jumping like that?"

"There's… um…" she whimpered as she squeezed her legs together. "A minor… _problem._" Beast Boy's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no."

…

Beast Boy stood outside the men's restroom with a worried look on his face. Leaning towards the door, he shouted, "Raven… you okay in there?"

"I—I dunno," came the reply.

"Well just…" he stopped himself. How would he explain this? "Just do what feels… natural," he tried.

He waited a moment, until he heard a high-pitched, ear-splitting scream echo from the restroom.

"AAAHHHHH!"

He grimaced. "Sounds about right," he said.

Raven spent the next five minutes in the restroom whimpering as she washed her hands vigorously.

…

Raven and Beast Boy sat at a table at the breakfast lounge in the hotel. The former was shuddering violently. "I. Will. Never. Close. My. Eyes. Again," she whispered in terror. "Every. Time. I. Do… I. See. _It_. Again." She took a napkin and began wiping her fingers as if trying to wipe away a disease.

"Sorry you had to see that," Beast Boy said.

"We have to change back!" Raven said. "And until we do, I am _not_ drinking a drop of water."

"I dunno… I wouldn't mind going to the restroom at least once—"

Raven gave him a lethal glare. Though he was looking at his own eyes, the stare and glow that emitted from it was so deadly he couldn't help but cower in fear.

"Don't. Ever. Say that. Again."

"Sorry…"

"Okay," she whispered. "How did this happen? What could've caused us to switch like this?"

The changeling put his fingers on his lips. "Maybe someone cast some kind of spell on us while we slept."

"I was thinking that, but it wouldn't make sense for us two to be switched and no one else," she pointed out.

"That's true."

"Maybe it was the Brotherhood? Remember those helmet things the Brain attacked us with? Maybe it was some kind of device that switches your consciousness."

"That was yesterday. Wouldn't it have worked sooner?"

"Maybe."

"How about Rift?"

"What about him?"

"Well we were the only two people to be in that rift-portal-dimensiony-thingamabob. Maybe somehow we—y'know—were switched because we didn't know exactly how it worked. Maybe Rift had a special suit to protect him from things like that and we didn't."

"Maybe… But I that was two days ago. It probably would've worked sooner, though. And I would think it'd be a gradual thing, not something that happens overnight two days later."

"You're right." Both were silent until Beast Boy's eyes suddenly widened. "The wine…" he muttered.

"What wine?"

"The one from last night."

"That's impossible. You didn't drink the wine," Raven replied.

"I did, too! And I drank the whole bottle thank-you-very-much!" he asserted.

The sorceress raised her head as her own eyes widened. "Beast Boy…" she said. "Tell me you're lying."

"I'm not."

"Please tell me you're lying."

"I promise you. I'm not."

"Oh my God!" Raven burrowed herself in her green hands. "I can't believe this!"

"You drank the wine, too, didn't you?" Beast Boy said. The girl in the boy's body nodded.

"But no—that's impossible! If it was the least bit magical, I would've sensed it a mile away!"

"What if you didn't?"

"I've been raised surrounded by magic. I've known nothing but spells and potions for fourteen years. I would have sensed something if the wine was the least bit magical."

"Raven…"

"I know I would have!"

"But what if you didn't? Can you name any other reason why we switched bodies?"

She shook her head and sighed, "No…"

"I think it really was the wine," Beast Boy said. "Maybe we can switch back somehow? Do you think we can switch back if we drank the wine again?"

"Maybe… But I drank all of mine."

"Really? Every single drop?"

She nodded.

"So did I," Beast Boy groaned. "So what now? We go back to the restaurant and get more?"

"I guess," she replied. "There seems to be no other way."

"Alright. Let's get there now."

"Now?"

"Why not? You said we have to switch back ASAP, right?"

She nodded in agreement. "Wait! We have to tell the others something. They're probably still wondering why both of us suddenly jumped up and ran away screaming."

Beast Boy clicked his tongue smugly. "I got that taken care of. While you were doing—your business—I called them and said we both ate some really nasty food that must've given us both bad nightmares. Then I said that you lost something and I'd help you go back and find it. They won't suspect a thing!"

"Huh. That was almost… intelligent of you. I guess when we switched bodies, you must've absorbed some of my IQ points."

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out and started to stand up, but dropped back down as he reached into his shirt. "What, what are you doing?" Raven asked.

"Your stupid bra strap keeps falling," he said as he blindly tried to pull it back up.

"Didn't you adjust it when you woke?"

He stared at her with the biggest "Are-you-freaking-kidding-me" look she had ever seen. "Oh right…" she said. Watching as he continued his horrible attempt at fixing the bra strap, she said abruptly, "Here, let me do it."

She stood up and reached into the shirt, finding the bra strap with ease and pulling it up. As she adjusted the strap, she heard whispers all around her.

"What is that man doing?" she heard.

"Is he taking off that woman's bra?" another said.

"Get a room."

"How revolting!"

"Michael, look at that loving couple. How come you refuse to show me your love and passion like them?"

"We're sixty, Martha, not sixteen."

"I may be old but I have a burning heart that needs to be satisfied!"

"Isn't this a five-star hotel? Where's security when you need it?"

"Mommy, what's that man doing?"

"Nothing, sweetheart."

"He's doing what Daddy was doing with you that time I walked into your room, right?"

"Honey, please don't say that out loud."

"What's that guy doing? Stinkin' perv!"

"Disgusting teenagers these days!"

Raven looked around her, her hands still reaching in for the bra strap. Meekly, she chuckled and said aloud, "It—It's not what it looks like. We're—we basically grew up together. Like brother and sister, hehe."

"Let's go somewhere else, Rae," Beast Boy whispered.

"Good idea." She drew her hand back and the two scampered outside. "Let's hurry and find that stupid restaurant," she muttered. "I want my body back."

…

A dark hotel room. The shades are drawn, shielding the room from the rays of light that shine outside. There is broken glass on the floor. Two shadows stand on opposite sides of the room.

"YOU!" Anna Crowe shrieks. "You did this to me! You did this—" she points at herself "—to me!"

"Anna. Anna, please," Malcolm pleads with her. "Please calm down. Please listen to me."

"You leave me be!" she screeches, her cries echoing horribly in his ears. "You've taken away far too much from me. You psychopath!"

"This isn't you!" Malcolm cries. "You're having another fit of insanity, Anna. Please fight it! Fight it! Fight your cellular degeneration! Please. I'm sorry about the accident, Anna. I'm sorry it happened. But you must fight it for me! For yourself! For us!"

The woman grabbed a shard of broken glass, ignoring the blood that appeared on her hands as she does so. "Die!" she squawked. "Die, you monster!" With a swift movement, she rushed forward and stabbed Malcolm's arm with the glass, twisting it before jerking it out. Malcolm screamed as blood gushed out.

"Anna, put that down," he said as sweat poured down his forehead. "Remember who you are. You are Anna Crowe. You are not this—this monster. You are Anna Crowe, my loving wife. You love me. And I love you." Slowly he made his way towards the woman. "Would you please calm down and put the glass down?" he asked. The woman slowly obeyed. "Breath," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes. "You are Anna. You are not this monster." The woman breathed frenetically as she listened to his words. "Would you please be my Anna Crowe again?" he said softly. The woman swallowed and coughed. She slowly fell asleep in his bleeding arms.

Tears fell from Malcolm's eyes as he held his sleeping wife. "I'm sorry, Anna," he sniffled. "I'm sorry about the accident. I'm sorry I did this to you…"

He lowered his head and softly kissed the woman's forehead. The couple was drenched in sweat and blood as they slept together, shielded from the outside world by the curtains that hung loosely on their window.

…

A girl in a blue cloak wandered down the trail that led through the forest. "Weird. This place isn't half as creepy as it is in the night," he said.

A boy came soon after her, scratching various parts of her body. "Beast Boy, don't you ever shower?" she asked. "I'm itching like crazy."

Beast Boy shrugged and let his eyes slowly wander down until they rested on a pair of flesh bulging from his chest. "Whoa," he thought. "They look so different from this angle. They look pretty big from up here, hehe." He slowly raised both hands and inconspicuously cupped his palms onto the surface of his breasts.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" a roar came from behind him. He froze in his spot and dropped his arms as if they were made of lead. The two continued wordlessly. After a while, Beast Boy blew off a couple strands of hair from his face. "Why do girls' hair have to be so long?" he whined. He tried brushing it back with his fingers. "Dude, wouldn't it look so cool if I tied it up in a little ponytail? Like how Mulan did! I'd look like some Japanese warrior!"

"So long as you're in my body, you are not going to be doing anything like that!" the girl in the boy's body hissed. "I refuse to be seen walking around with a hairdo a Japanese Shogun would have."

"What's a show gun?"

"Never mind. Hey look, I think I see the restaurant coming up!" Raven pointed at what seemed to be a small restaurant about a stone's throw away.

The two Titans began running up the trail, impatient to finally be back into their original bodies. Their eager smiles slowly faded as they saw that the restaurant had completely changed. First of all there were no animal carcasses hanging from the trees, nor were there any chickens or black cats running loose like there were the previous night. The restaurant looked much cleaner and newer, and the hand-painted, wooden sign from last night was instead replaced with an electric one, brightly displaying, "Welcome to Sunny Garden - Bienvenue au Jardin Ensoleillé".

Beast Boy was the first to speak. "Raven… Does the place seem any… different to you?"

Raven nodded. "Something's up," she said as she began walking inside. The two walked into the restaurant warily. As they entered, a little ring from a bell hanging from the door accompanied them and they were immediately greeted by a female waitress in her early twenties.

"Bonjour!" she chimed with a bright smile. "Hello! Welcome to Sunny Garden. Would it be two people?"

"Uh… we're here to speak with the chef," Raven said slowly, startled by the sudden appearance of a waitress who certainly was not there last night.

"Very well. I'll get our chef for you. In the meantime, why don't you two sit down and have a look at the menu. If at any time you wish to order, please ask!"

"Sure, thanks," Beast Boy said with a smile before he and Raven sat down at a nearby table.

"What's going on here?" Raven said in a hushed tone. "This place is completely different."

Beast Boy nodded and looked around. Indeed the restaurant was completely transformed. The fold-up chairs and tables from last night were replaced with mahogany ones and the old, wooden floors were swapped with stone tiles. Gone were the talismans and voodoo dolls and in their place were traveler's guides, brochures, and a small gift shop. The assortment of wines remained, but the strangely shaped bottles of many colors and the variety of tops resembling animal heads had disappeared, instead replaced with regular bottles with plain labels. Even the items on the menu didn't match—this restaurant boasted deliciously flavored steak, fish, chicken, beef, and various French dishes. There was no chicken soup, boiled or braised, whatsoever.

"Are we even in the right restaurant?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.

Raven tapped on the elbow of a nearby waiter, asking him where the other restaurant in the forest was. He said there wasn't any other one. Raven insisted there was, saying there was a very run down one with dead animals hanging from the trees, chickens running loose, old tables and chairs, and an assortment of various wines. The waiter assured Raven that there was no such restaurant, and that Sunny Garden was the only restaurant in the entire forest.

Beast Boy and Raven shared a glance. "Do you have any Rose Petal wine, here?" Beast Boy asked.

"Uh… no, ma'am," came the response. "There's—no such thing as 'Rose Petal wine'. Perhaps you're thinking about rosé wine?"

They shared another glance.

Within moments, the first waitress had come back with the chef. "These are the customers that had requested you, ma'am."

"How may I help you?" a woman in her mid-fifties with a French accent said politely. "I am the chef of Sunny Garden."

"Uhh, I think we're looking for the wrong chef," Raven said, examining the woman up and down. "We're looking for the male chef who was here last night."

The chef and the waitress looked confused. "What male chef?" the latter asked.

"Y'know," Beast Boy explained. "Tallish, kinda big and muscular, black hair, small eyes. He had a scar on his cheek."

Now it was the waitress and the chef's turn to share a confused glance. "Ma'am," the chef said to Beast Boy. "There is no male chef here. In fact, the only male workers in this entire restaurant are the two waiters you see here and there. I am the only chef."

Beast Boy and Raven left the restaurant with grim faces. Beast Boy insisted that the restaurant they had wandered to the previous night must have been here, and was probably hidden somewhere in the woods. Raven pointed out that there was only one trail in the whole forest and that the very trail had led them to the restaurant from last night is now leading to this Sunny Garden restaurant. "But restaurants don't just disappear!" he protested.

"Do restaurants have body-swapping wines in them?" Raven replied. "Whatever restaurant we went into was right here. But it's gone now. Disappeared into thin air."

They began walking down the trail in silence until Raven's Titan communicator began beeping. Raven began rummaging through her pockets until she remembered she was in Beast Boy's body and therefore Beast Boy had her communicator. She looked up and saw Beast Boy smirking as he waved the communicator before her eyes. "Give me that, Beast Boy!"

"Come on, let me answer. They're looking for Raven, not Beast Boy, right?"

"Give me the communicator. I'll tell them Raven is sick or whatever."

Beast Boy held it away from her. "They want to see Raven so they'll get to see Raven, okay?" Pushing her away, Beast Boy opened the communicator and casually answered, "Sup?"

Batman's face stared back at him. "Greetings… Raven?"

Raven felt a bucket of ice being poured down her back as she lunged for the communicator. "Give it to me, Beast Boy!" she cried. He resisted.

"Oh my God!" Beast Boy cried. "I'm talking to Batman!"

"Are you alright… Raven?" the man asked.

Beast Boy covered Raven's mouth with his hand. "Beast Boy!" came a muffled shout.

"Um, yes sir, your justice-ness and Dark Knight-ness, sir!" Beast Boy saluted.

"You seem… different."

"Hehe, how am I different? It's Raven, uh…" He cleared his throat, wrapped his cloak near his mouth and said in a gravelly voice, "I'm Raven."

Neither Raven in Beast Boy's body nor the Dark Knight were impressed. Raven hastily grabbed the communicator from Beast Boy's hands and said, "I apologize for _Raven's_ strangeness, sir. We believe it is a side-effect from the Brotherhood's antics. We're sure she'll be fine very soon. In the meantime, I'll take any message you wish to give."

"Why thank you… Beast Boy…" Batman replied. "That's very… uncharacteristic of you. But thank you. I just wanted to tell you that the Crowe's will be relocated to Jump City immediately after their vacation, like I had said yesterday. Remember that Anna's cellular degeneration will certainly cause her to go insane at times so be careful when dealing with her. Also, it might be helpful to know that Anna Crowe, before her accident, was a stunt double, specializing in action films. Malcolm Crowe worked as a physicist. They are both now unemployed as Mr. Crowe had recently inherited a large sum of money."

"Thank you, sir. That is all very helpful, sir. Once again, we won't let you down!" Raven said with a nod.

"Hey!" she heard Beast Boy say. "What's going on? What are you two talking—" She hung up before Batman could hear the rest.

"Raven! What's going on?"

"Calm down, alright? I'll explain it to you all later."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just some new info Batman gave to us."

"Then why couldn't you let me answer?"

"Because you'd screw it up, that's why!" The two had already exited the forest and were now getting close to the hotel.

"I'd screw up? Of course, because I'm the idiot, right?"

"Bingo, hot shot."

Beast Boy grumbled. "Well you know what? Since I'm in your body, you might as well be nice to me."

"And why is that?"

"I dunno…" Beast Boy shrugged. "I might _accidentally_ sell all your books on eBay. Or _accidentally_ drop your Ring of Azar thing into the sewers…"

"You wouldn't dare!" Raven hissed. "Well I might _accidentally_ sell all your stuff and buy a sign with your picture that says 'Hey Ladies, I'm Horny and Desperate!' and place it all over Jump City!"

"Remember last time we fought Control Freak and he flirted with you? I'll go to prison, call him up, and tell him you were just playing hard to get."

"I'll tell the tabloids you're in love with My Little Pony and 1 Direction!"

"I'll dip all your clothes in pink paint!"

"I'll stalk schoolgirls and make them think you're a creeper!"

"I'll buy the tiniest bikini they have and wear it to a nightclub!"

"I'll tell everyone you wear orthopedic underwear!"

The two had made it to the hotel. "I'll—I'll…" Beast Boy started. His eyes lit up. "I'll take… a shower," he said with a wide smile. Raven's eyes widened in horror. "Y'know," he continued. "_Naked_…" Raven mouthed a vicious "No". He kept on going, "In the birthday suit… Au naturale…"

He suddenly started a sprint towards the elevator. Raven immediately chased after him. He made it to the elevator and quickly ran inside, closing the door behind him with a mischievous smile. Raven grunted and took the other elevator up.

Raven exited the elevator and got off on Beast Boy's floor just as he did and the two raced towards Beast Boy's room. Though Raven was in Beast Boy's body and should be faster, Beast Boy was used to transformations and quickly adapted to his new body while Raven was still awkwardly stumbling with her new legs.

Beast Boy unlocked the door and burst inside, quickly followed by Raven. The two jumped onto the bed as Beast Boy teasingly began removing Raven's leotard. Lifting it up just above the belly button, he laughed, "Hey there! I'm trying to take a shower here! Someone call security!"

"Quit it, Beast Boy!" Raven cried as she roughly shoved the shirt back down. He pushed her back and lifted the shirt even higher. The two began wrestling in the same fashion as the leotard ran up and down the belly button rhythmically. Beast Boy was winning with the shirt lifted just under his breasts and his entire stomach showing when a small _click_ indicated the hotel room door opening.

The two Titans froze in their spot as Cyborg entered. The mechanical man jumped back as he saw Raven and Beast Boy in a wrestling position on the bed with Beast Boy's legs wrapped around Raven's and her leotard pulled up. The two shared the same shocked expression as they stared back at him.

"What the!?" he shouted.

* * *

**Whoops.**

**Looks like _someone's_ gonna have some _explaining_ to do.**

**Thank you, thank you for all those who have REVIEWED, FOLLOWED, or FAVORITED. It's a really great feeling to write these stories and an even better feeling to know that you guys like reading them. Send me some feedback, ya? :D**

**Tell me what you guys think. The burning question remains on who is that mysterious chef? Many of you guys had guessed Madame Rouge. That's a very good guess, though I'm not saying if it's right or not. A few have been very imaginative and have guessed that it was Anna Crowe's father or even the villain Metamorpho. I love it when you guys speculate on stuff like these!**

**And on a last note, GOOD LUCK to any readers who are starting school around now. School's killing me, slowly but surely, and I'm sure the same goes for you all. I wish you guys a year of hard work and diligence, fun and friends, growth and prosperity!**


	5. Training

**I just wanted to thank you guys again, everyone who had FOLLOWED, FAVORITED, or REVIEWED! It sure means a lot that you enjoy the story. I find myself daydreaming about what I'm going to write next while I'm in the shower... It's gotten that bad -_- Oh well, anything that keeps me from master...**

**...ing the art of dancing in the shower, right? hehehe.**

**...On with the story.**

** shugokage - Thank you! I know. Damn that Cyborg for coming in at the wrong moment! I wonder if there will be more "accidents" like these in the future...?**

** IshylovesGeorgeShelley - Equal amount funnies and equal amount plot progression, I hope. After this, it'll probably be much less funny and more serious. Although I won't mind adding a couple funny scenes and popculture references just for y'all's sake! (Y'all's? Is that a word?)**

** krikanalo - You've read 7 Reasons Why too? Haha, I followed that story all the way to the end! (Free advertising for any readers who haven't read that). Well, I certainly am glad you're guessing a lot! As usual, I won't tell you who, but I have a feeling Mumbo himself is a little too much bark and no bite to actually pull off a stunt like this. And the prospect of Raven's brothers being in a story has always been on my mind ever since the first FanFic I wrote. They're just so BA that who can't resist them? Unfortunately, they don't fit in too perfectly in the Teen Titans cartoon universe. If I can, I will add them somehow, at least as a small cameo or mention.**

** Soulfulbard - Haha I actually added that line in a spur-of-the-moment when I was rereading the chapter. I'm glad someone liked it! And as for Beast Boy and Raven, considering their history I don't think they'd fare to well when they are forced to work together like this.**

** BizkitRebellion - Thanks a lot! Last chapter was squeezing the humor out of their situation, this one's a bit more focused on relationship-building and plot progression. After this one, I *sadly* wouldn't expect too much humor, but I'll try my best to keep it interesting!**

** Guest - I'd imagine Cyborg would be more shocked than angry. I mean, imagine if you saw two people who absolutely HATED each other look like they're about to do it. You'd probably freeze up in shock. Cyborg pummeling the crap out of Beast Boy would be funnier, no doubt, but that means Raven would be taking the beating and I'd never do that to her!... yet.**

**LightAngelHiroko - Thanks! I try ;)**

**Bluedog197 - I'm glad you liked it! Yes, the restroom and bra strap scene were my personal favorites, haha. **

**Cheshire cat - Nice prediction, then! BTW, I was always curious. Is your name from Cheshire Cat of Alice in Wonderland or the character Cheshire in Teen Titans (who's Vietnamese. Represent.)**

**RJay Fame - Because the plot demaands iittttt! Well in all seriousness, Raven was the first to figure out the truth about the Crowe's so it'd only make sense for Batman to inform Raven about things first. He says so himself that he wished Robin had the cunning Raven has. Normally, yes, he would relay info to Robin but just this once he tells it to Raven, probably because he's not sure whether or not Raven had told the others yet.**

**titanfan45 - Oh yes he did! Too bad he was rudely interrupted by a certain Tin Man. Wonder what would've happened had Cyborg not entered... ;)**

**CN7470 - First Review? Well then the honor is all mine! Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot :)**

**Now onto the story:**

**The Adventures of Rae Boy and Beast Girl**

* * *

**Chapter V — Training**

There were very few times in Raven's life when she was literally speechless—so shocked that she was rendered mute for a few moments. She was speechless when she first fled Azarath and came to Earth. She was speechless when her father, Trigon, had destroyed the world. She was speechless when her friends had helped her save it.

Now she was speechless as she lied on the bed next to Beast Boy, her legs wrapped around his, her hands firmly grasping her leotard which was pulled halfway up her body, and her eyes locked onto the wide open eyes of Cyborg.

"What—" he gasped. "What's going on here?"

"I—" she tried, choking on the words. There were so many words in her mouth but because of her shock they came out in a jumbled "I—urgh—you—him—me."

A silence followed. "Beast Boy?" Cyborg said, breaking the silence as he looked directly at Raven. "What's going on?" Raven only managed to shake her head. "Raven?" Cyborg said, turning towards Beast Boy. "What were you two… doing?"

Beast Boy was also too alarmed to reply. "We—uh…" he stammered. He and Raven looked at each other and immediately separated themselves, sitting upright with their heads down.

"You two weren't gonna—" Cyborg gulped. "_Do_ it… were you?"

"No!" Raven blurted out.

"No, no, it's nothing like that!" Beast Boy protested.

"We were just… were just…" Raven's eyes betrayed her panic. Cyborg stared suspiciously at her. "I—we—we were—"

"It's alright, Beast Boy. You don't have to lie," Beast Boy suddenly said.

"What?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said uneasily. "Tell me, Raven. I'm fine with—whatever's happening between you two."

"There's nothing 'between us', Cy," Beast Boy explained. "You see, I had these small scars on my stomach from our fight with the Brotherhood. I tried to hide it but Beast Boy somehow found out. He was trying to get me to show him so he could help treat it for me. That's all."

"O—Oh." Cyborg gave a sigh of relief. "Hahaha! Of course that's what happened. I'm such an idiot! I actually thought you two were—hahaha!"

"Haha. What, you thought me and Beast Boy were in some kind of secret relationship or something?" Beast Boy said. "Come on, Tin Man. Get yourself together, now."

The cybernetic man raised his eyebrows and turned around to face Beast Boy with a strange look on his face. "Raven," he said, oblivious he was talking to his best friend. "'Cy'? 'Tin Man'? Since when did you call me that?"

The changeling's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He began searching for an answer before Cyborg suddenly slapped Raven in the back, saying, "Lookit, Beast Boy! Raven's finally loosening up. I'd say we did a good job with her, eh?"

"Um, yeah," Raven meekly responded. This did not go unnoticed by Cyborg.

"Yo, what's up with you? You're oddly quiet today, BB. You alright?"

"Y—Yeah," she mumbled. "Um… Totally dude. I'm G. Sweet!..."

Confusion riddled Cyborg's face. "What," he said slowly, "are you doing?"

"I mean—Sup, man? Nothing's up. I'm just chilling… Because—YOLO… and stuff."

"Uh… okay…"

Raven cleared her throat and said, "Sorry… I think the food here's not good for me."

"Alrighty, then," Cyborg said with a clap of his hands. "I was gonna get some sunscreen, but considering how weird everything is right now… I don't think I need it anymore." He looked at Raven, then to Beast Boy. "Well then," he said. "Seeya!" and almost dashed out the door.

The two Titans let out a sigh of relief. "That was—" Raven gasped. "That was so bad…"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Beast Boy replied. "You completely froze up. You made me talk like Lil' Wayne."

"How come you didn't? That was a perfect lie, what you said."

He smiled in pride. "For the past four years, I've lied so many times that it's super easy for me. I'm good at lying."

Raven raised her eyebrows. "And I—the half demon on our team—am not good at lying?"

"No, I didn't say that. I bet you're the best liar out of all of us. But you see, you've never had to lie to your own teammates before. You've never had to come up with one so quickly, right? Well I have. Every time I'm caught stealing the last slice of pizza or not flushing the toilet, I'm used to coming up with an excuse in a second."

"Huh," Raven said in a tone of almost admiration. "That's actually… pretty cool."

"Whoa," Beast Boy beamed. "Was that a compliment? Was that you admitting that I'm better than you at something?"

She sighed. "Well, what do we do now?"

"Well," he replied with a coy smile. "I do still need to shower…"

"Quit it, Beast Boy!"

"Well I'm going to have to shower sometime. Can't stay dirty like this forever!"

"Then—then I'll shower you. It's my body, I'll clean it!"

"So what you saying is… you want us to look at your body… together?"

This elicited a glare from Raven. "Pervert."

"Weeeellllll?" Beast Boy asked in a cartoonish voice.

"My body can skip showering a day. Maybe this body-switch thing has a time limit and we'll change back when we sleep. For now we should just cover some basic things."

"Basic things? Like what."

"Like the fact that you need a shave," Raven said, feeling her chin. "And we need to teach you how to wear a bra."

"Oooh, I'm gonna like that part!"

"Your eyes will be closed at all times!"

"Fine," he grumbled. "Let's shave me first."

…

Raven sat on the bed with shaving cream all over her chin as Beast Boy stood before her, gently scraping her face with a razor. "Y'know," Beast Boy muttered. "I never realized how good-looking I was until now."

"Please," Raven mumbled. "I wonder how a guy like you can even get facial hair."

"It's probably the Sakutia," Beast Boy muttered. "My hair grows a bit faster than other people's. I tried growing a beard once but it didn't look good. So I shave."

Moments later, Beast Boy sat topless on the bed, breasts fully showing and eyes fully closed. His hands were awkwardly fumbling with a bra. "How—" he said. "How do girls do this?"

Raven examined him and hastily said, "Here, give it to me." Beast Boy obeyed, opening his eyes while raising his head high to prevent himself from seeing anything underneath—as per Raven's instruction.

Raven took the bra and wrapped it around her own body. "You put it on backwards," she explained, "so the hook is in the front. Do the hook first, then twist the bra around so the cups are in the front." She did the hook and twisted the bra around. "Pull them up snugly and adjust the straps. And that's it." She undid the bra and tossed it back at Beast Boy.

One clumsy attempt later, Beast Boy was wearing a bra which fit nice and snug. He put on a black leotard and wrapped himself in a blue cloak. "There," Raven said. "Not too hard, is it?"

"…I'll get used to it." Beast Boy lied down on the bed and sighed. "Say, Raven."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me about yourself. If we're gonna be each other, we have to know more about ourselves, right?"

"We already know a lot about each other."

"A lot. Not everything."

Raven lied down next to him. "Well… I was born and raised in Azarath. My mother was Arella Roth and my father was Trigon. I was raised by the monks and almost never saw my own mother. I'm sure she was afraid of me. Afraid of her half-demon child. I never really had much friends. Besides you guys, there was only one other person in my life I considered a friend."

Beast Boy's ears perked up. "Really? Who?"

Raven smiled reminiscently. "His name was Raphael. He was a poor farmer's boy while I was the daughter of one of the most important women in the world. He was a pauper and I was a princess, pretty much. Who knows how that ever happened? But it did. We became best friends. And then," she added a chuckle. "He was my first boyfriend."

"What?" Beast Boy said with a shocked voice. "Your first—first boyfriend?"

"It didn't last long. We only had one date before I had to leave Azarath. But we had known each other for so long it was like we've been dating for years."

"Wo—ow. I never knew you had a boyfriend."

"We've written to each other so many times through the communication books. I heard he's been studying a lot and recently became an officer working in Azarath's capital. But enough about me. There anything about you?"

"Well… Nothing as much as you having a secret boyfriend…" Beast Boy muttered. "When I was a little kid, I got bit by a green monkey and contracted Sakutia. I was going to die until my parents gave me an untested serum that saved my life but turned my green and gave me these powers. Later on, my parents died in a boating accident. Two kidnappers rescued me and made me help them in their crimes. Y'know, I'd distract a cop by turning into a dog or something. After that, my legal guardian was this dude named Nicholas Galtry. I grew up in his home, acting like his servant, until I found out Galtry was planning on killing me so I wouldn't inherit his house. I escaped, and found my way to the Doom Patrol. After breaking in, they captured me but allowed me to join their team. Steve and Rita Dayton became my parents after that."

"Huh. I never knew about the kidnappers and this Galtry figure."

"Yeah… I usually never talk about that." Both fell silent, unsure of what to say next.

"So who do you think did this to us?" Raven asked. "We've got time now. Might as well think a little."

"Ugh, thinking?"

"You have my head. Use some of my intelligence," she returned.

He furrowed his eyebrows and rested his head on a fist. "Well the chef dude was using magic so that rules out the Brotherhood."

"Right."

"He was probably in disguise, too. Do you think it's the Puppet King again?"

"Doubt it. Even in the slightest possibility he reanimated and escaped our tower, then he would've just switched us using his puppets. He wouldn't have gone through all that trouble of luring us to a mysterious restaurant and giving us magical wine."

"Could it have been someone else with magic powers? Maybe someone from your world?"

"I guess that's possible… I'm an expert on spells, not potions. I wouldn't say it's impossible but a potion like that could only be crafted by the most powerful of sorcerers. And I wouldn't see any reason why someone from my world would want to do that in the first place."

"Then what could it be?"

"The chef said something like it being medicinal wine, right?" Raven recalled. "He also said something about his daughter being destined to be sick."

"Weird words…"

"Weird, indeed."

"I dunno this is all really weird to me and I don't think we're getting anywhere at this rate…" Beast Boy gave up. "Hey!" he then said. "What are we lying around here for? We still have a whole resort to have fun in, right? I don't know about you, but I'm not letting some body-swap get in the way of my fun!"

Raven rolled her eyes as she sat up. "Of course you'd say that. You ever thought of meditating? Since you have my powers, you have to meditate more often."

"But hey, it's like you said, right? There's a chance the spell will wear off and we'll be ourselves by tomorrow." He jumped off the bed and walked out the door, motioning Raven to follow him. She sighed and trailed behind him.

As they rode the elevator down the hotel, Raven caught Beast Boy occasionally adjust his bra. Suspicious, she said, "Isn't that a little too much adjusting?"

"You can't be too sure," he replied as he adjusted it firmly.

"Grrr. That's enough!"

"Just a little more," he laughed. Raven wretched his hands away.

As the elevator door opened and a woman walked in, Raven barked "Keep your dirty hands off my boobs!"

Blushing, Raven lowered her head. "Great," she thought. "Now she thinks I'm some perverted guy." Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in her mind. "Wait a second. She doesn't think _I'm_ a perverted guy. She thinks _Beast Boy's_ a perverted guy." A wicked smile appeared on her lips as she suddenly turned around and faced the woman.

"Excuse me," she said to her. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Beast Boy, from the Teen Titans. Surely you've heard of us. But it's just isn't fair if you know my name and I don't know yours, you know?"

"What are you doing?" Beast Boy whispered. Raven continued.

"So," she whispered in the most seductive voice she could imagine. "What's your name?"

Her desired effected was produced. The woman eyed her weirdly and stepped back slightly. "It—it's Maria," she said.

"Mmm…" Raven sighed. "Maria. That sounds absolutely _delicious_. I wonder if you're as deliciously satisfying as your name?"

The woman backed away as Beast Boy's eyes widened, understanding what Raven was doing.

"What?" Raven said, half-closing her eyes. "Do you think you can resist me, Beast Boy of the Teen Titans? The women all swarm for me, you know. You should consider it an honor that I—Beast Boy—the Titan of Testosterone—am choosing you as a suitable, ahem, lover…"

"Get away from me, you green perverted freak!" the woman screamed as she bolted out the elevator.

"That's Beast Boy, the green perverted freak to you!" Raven called after her. Pleased with her work, Raven strolled out the elevator and into the hotel lobby as a fuming Beast Boy followed.

"What was that?" he snapped. "Now she thinks I'm a perv. And she's gonna tell everyone else that I'm a perv!"

"Serves you right," Raven shrugged. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't fondling my breasts like they were plush toys."

He scoffed. "Why are you so sensitive about your boobs?" He casually lifted his leotard and peered underneath. "If you want, I'll give you a boob job. Turn that C into a double-D."

Raven flared up, raising her fist threateningly. "Why you little!"

Beast Boy, thinking quickly, shouted to the entire lobby, "Help me! This tall, handsome man is about to hit me, a woman!" Everyone turned around to face them, some even murmuring about how rude and barbaric that man was. Raven stuttered and quickly responded by pulling Beast Boy into a hug, explaining to the crowd, "It's just because she's so beautiful, from her head to her toes!"

As the people lost interest and walked away, Raven hissed into his ear, "I will wring your neck mercilessly."

Raven shoved Beast Boy forward as they walked out the door of the hotel, coming face to face with Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg.

Raven and Beast Boy stopped in their tracks, startled to see their fellow teammates staring directly at them. "Uh, hey guys," Raven said, trying her best to imagine what Beast Boy would say. "What's going on?"

"We're concerned about you two," Robin said bluntly with his arms crossed. "Normally you two can't stand to be with each other. Now you two have been with each other all day yesterday and today. And what's this I hear about you—ahem—_wrestling_ with each other?"

"It's not like that!" Beast Boy protested.

"We're doing this because we're your friends," Cyborg interrupted.

"Doing what?"

"We are having an all-boys/all-girls day!" Starfire shouted gleefully. "Beast Boy will spend the day with Robin and Cyborg and Raven will spend the day with me!"

"What?!" the two switched Titans said simultaneously.

"Come on, String Bean," Cyborg said, walking over and pulling Raven away. "You're comin' with us."

"It—It's alright," Raven whispered to Beast Boy before she was dragged away. "It's not like we'll be doing anything that our switched will affect. Just act like me and no one will notice a thing."

And indeed they went to innocent places. Rock-climbing, water-skiing, hang-gliding, they all were things Beast Boy and Raven could do without raising suspicion.

Then they went to a spa.

All five of them, together.

Raven and Beast Boy gulped as they were handed a towel and told to undress in the changing room. "Can't we go back to hang-gliding?" Beast Boy asked Starfire.

"I don't really feel like going to a spa today," Raven griped. "Or… getting naked for that matter."

…

Starfire sat in the sauna with her arms outstretched across the bench, breathing in slowly and enjoying the sweet mist. These were nothing compared to the therapeutic steam rooms in Tamaran, she noticed. Smirking, she commented to herself how weak Earthling bodies were, so easily burned.

Hearing the door opening, she watched as Raven entered slowly. "Raven, you have arrived!" she said. "Sit, sit!"

"Uh hey, Star," Beast Boy said, blushing. He sat down a fair enough distance from her.

"Isn't it nice here?"

"Uh… yup."

"Haha, these saunas are nowhere near the ones in my world. I'd imagine they are much weaker than the ones on your planet, correct?"

"Huh? My planet?"

"Yes, Azarath. You have told me before how relaxing and superior those saunas were to Earth's, did you not?"

"Oh… yeah, sure," he said quickly.

Starfire eyed him curiously. Shrugging it off, she said absentmindedly, "You know, I wonder what the boys would do without us? With bodies like ours, I'm sure they would die from boredom." She laughed.

"Y—Y'know," he said, examining his body. "I never really noticed how nice this body is. This body could definitely run for Miss America if it wasn't gray."

"Miss America?"

"It's like a competition of the prettiest women in America," he explained.

Starfire again eyed him curiously. "What is wrong with Raven?" she wondered to herself. "It is not like her to act this way, especially to compliment herself. Hmm…"

Meanwhile, Robin and Cyborg were sitting in the public bath stark naked in the waters. It needn't be said that the three male Titans were close enough friends—especially friends who live with each other—to have seen each other naked before, so they were perfectly comfortable with each other.

"What's taking BB so long?" Cyborg mumbled.

"I dunno." Robin opened his eyes and saw a green figure approaching. "Hey it's Beast Boy!" he said. "Wait… what's he doing?"

Raven slowly approached them with her towel pulled up all the way to above her chest, holding it daintily as if she was still a girl.

"Yo, man!" Cyborg called. "Why are you holding your towel like that?"

"Uh, no reason," she replied, looking directly at Cyborg. She knew that they were both naked, but she realized that she could look at as long as she wants as he was a robot and didn't have certain "human parts". It was Robin—the full human with fully human parts—she'd have to avoid looking at. "If you don't mind, I'd rather stay up here."

"What's up, Grass Stain?" Robin laughed. "Why'd you get so shy all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, Bird Brain!" she called back.

The Boy Wonder smiled mischievously. "Oh, we got jokes, eh? You're gonna pay for that!" He stood up from the public bath and made his way towards Raven.

Raven, turning around, suddenly caught a glance of her teammate's "assets" and let out a loud scream.

"What?" Robin said in a startled voice. "What's wrong?"

Raven's panicked eyes tried with all their might to peel themselves away but were too stunned to move.

"Is something on me?" he asked, looking on his body. By the time he looked back, Raven had already fainted with a _thud_ on the ground.

…

That night, Beast Boy walked absentmindedly across the outside of the hotel to find a familiar face sitting on one of the tables. Smiling, he walked over and took a seat next to the green boy before him. "Strange seeing you here," he said to Raven. "Watcha doin'?"

Raven merely pointed to the bottle of whiskey before her. Beast Boy understood and smiled. "Never knew you were such a heavy drinker."

"I'm not," came the reply, ironically just before she took two large gulps from the bottle. "You should see the wine in Azarath. It's much stronger than the ones on Earth. It's almost impossible for me to get drunk with Earthly alcohol."

"It's sure been an interesting day we've had," Beast Boy said. "I'm glad it's over."

"How was your day with two C-cups?" she teased.

"Pretty good if you ask me," he answered with a smug smile.

"Sorry they're not the double-Ds you crave," she said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"I think my interests shifted a bit."

"Shifted? What do you want now? E-cups and a butt to match?"

He shrugged and said softly, "I think I'd prefer a woman who can't run for Miss America."

"Can't run for Miss America?" Raven said skeptically as she took another sip. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"If you're trying to insult me, then at least I don't have uneven butt cheeks."

Beast Boy's jaw dropped as Raven let out a small laugh. "Pervert!" he grumbled.

The changeling stared at the stars above him. He fiddled with his fingers, not yet noticing how dainty they were. He smiled slightly as he examined Raven's hands. Her skin was gray, yes, but were beautifully so, and her fingernails were cut short. Function before fashion, she'd always say. Long nails would've only been a nuisance in battle.

"Hey, Raven," he said.

"Hmm?"

"I've been doing a little thinking. And I realized there's something that you have that Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and I don't have."

Raven shrugged as if it was nothing. "There's a lot of things I have that you guys don't. Magic powers… a home world… a temper…"

"…a family."

Raven's green eyes were stunned as they looked up with an almost hurt look. "A what?" she murmured.

"A mother and a father," Beast Boy said. "Well, at least your mother. My parents and Cyborg's parents died in accidents, Starfire's parents died after she was captured, and Robin's parents were killed, but yours—yours are both still alive."

"What family?" she said in a dark voice. "What parents? My father tried to destroy the world—succeeded in destroying the world. He only sees me as a portal—a weapon. And my mother? She gave me up the moment I was born. She abandoned me to the monks as if she never wished to see the demon child she had given birth to. She never wished to see me. We've only met a handful of times. And every time we did, I could sense the fear in her, the disgust she felt every time she looked at me. She sees me not as her child but as Trigon's child, Trigon's offspring."

"Raven, she's your mother."

"She never even held me. Not once."

"That's not true."

"It is."

An uneasy silence followed before Raven took another gulp. "Besides, you're wrong anyway," she said. "We all have a family. We have each other. That's our family. Had any of your parents not died, we wouldn't have found our way to each other, right?"

Beast Boy smiled. "That's true."

"How come you just started talking about my parents all of a sudden?"

"I dunno… the thought just came to me, I guess."

"Well don't think things like that anymore, okay?" Raven said. She leaned closer to him until they met eye to eye. "You're my family, Beast Boy. You, Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin. Don't you forget that."

The gray-skinned changeling and the green-skinned sorceress both smiled softly, a rare feat for these two when they're together.

"I think we'd better go back up," said Raven. "It's getting late."

"Oh, yeah. Sure," came the reply from the boy. "I'll—uh… walk you up?"

"In your dreams, Grass Stain." She smirked and ran inside with Beast Boy trailing soon after her. The elevator took the two up the hotel. Upon the first ding, Beast Boy got off first and Raven did not hesitate in telling him, "Don't even think of doing any sneaky business while you're in my body, got it? And that goes for Starfire, too!"

Beast Boy saluted her as he stuck out his tongue playfully. Walking down the hallway, he made his way to Raven and Starfire's room and let himself inside. Greeting Starfire as monotonously as possible, the boy brushed his teeth and washed his face before taking off his belt and cloak and crashing onto the bed. Beast Boy and Starfire wished each other goodnight and the Tamaranian fell asleep within minutes. He, on the other hand, found himself unable to sleep.

His two new additions to his chest made it uncomfortable to sleep on his chest or side, so he had to sleep facing upwards, which was to him the least comfortable position.

But there was another thing keeping him awake. Starfire, he learned, was a very huggy person, especially when asleep. It wasn't long until Starfire rolled over to his side and slung her arm around his stomach. Her loud snoring echoed into his ears as her leg flung itself around hers. "Uh oh…" Beast Boy thought, never having felt such bodily contact with a girl before. Slowly lowering his eyes, he was met with a crystal-clear view of Starfire's chest and hips.

"Whoa…" he thought to himself. "I never noticed how—curvy—Star was." He gulped and slowly whispered to himself. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K—" Starfire let out a small moan that sounded extremely seductive in Beast Boy's ears. "H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P…" he continued in a slight whimpering voice. "Q, R, S, T, U, V—" The Tamaranian hugged him tighter and let out another moan. Beast Boy sighed, keeping his eyes away from his hugging roommate. This was going to be a long night.

…

Bumblebee yawned unceremoniously as she looked back sleepily towards the living room of the Titans East Tower. "Aren't you guys going to sleep?" she called.

"In a minute!" Speedy replied. "I'm about to KO Menos so hard!"

"Este tonto realmente piensa que puede ganar! Jajajaja!" a lighter voice said. His brother chuckled in agreement.

The woman in yellow rolled her eyes. "Boys," she sighed as she entered the elevator and headed up to her room.

Humming slightly as she opened her door and slipped inside, she flipped on her lights and jumped back with a start as she saw a man in a black body suit with a mask shielding his face sitting casually on a chair. He bowed his head slightly and raised his hand as if he was saying hello to an old friend.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Bumblebee demanded, getting into a fighting position. "Answer me!—"

"Would you please be silent?" the man said simply. The Titan shrieked as she felt her lips wrench shut as if covered by an invisible gag. She placed her hands on her mouth and tried pulling the non-existent gag off but only succeeded in pulling at thin air. "Now would you please be still?" the man continued. Bumblebee let out a small yelp as she felt her body constricting itself like it was being bound by some invisible force.

"My apologies we had to meet this way, but I simply could not have let you warn your friends. Of course, they would've suffered the same fate as you—they will soon, in fact—but I wished to visit them _individually_." Bumblebee screamed through her closed lips as she struggled to free herself but finding that even her muscles wouldn't move.

"I'd much rather visit each of you one by one rather than all at once like I did with the Titans West," he continued. "You know, get to know each of you more personally. Now Karen—can I call you Karen? I find 'Bumblebee' far too impersonal—Karen, thank you for letting me have this time to introduce myself properly. I'm not too much into formalities, so I'll just say it outright. My name is Rift. I have a certain… favor to ask of you. I hope you will cooperate with the best of your abilities. Actually… I can _guarantee_ you will, indeed, cooperate with the best of your abilities."

The Titan felt tears in her eyes welling up, not due to pain but due to fear—fear of what this man might do to them. "Now you stay here while I visit your friends, okay?" Rift said coyly. "Now who should I visit next? I'll let you pick."

"Hmmph! Hmnrghpphh!" Karen Beecher's muffled shouts called.

"Aqualad it is! Good choice!" Rift exclaimed. "I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere," he chuckled. "Not that you can, anyway."

The last thing Bumblebee saw before passing out was the mysterious man named Rift walked out the door of her room and towards Aqualad's. The last thing she heard was Mas and Menos' synchronized cheers as they won their video game, completely unaware of the menace approaching.

…

In had been three hours since the Teen Titans landed the T-Ship back into Titans Tower when Raven announced that she was going to the roof to train, which she felt was the best thing to do after a vacation. Beast Boy, on cue, agreed aloud and asked to join her. The girl sighed and nodded, but quickly saying he'll literally be kicked off if he gets too annoying. Robin agreed that training would do them good and decided to head onto the training room. Cyborg called the weight room to himself while Starfire decided to go outside and fly around for a bit.

The green and gray Titans headed into the elevator and waved to the others as the doors closed. "Phew!" Beast Boy sighed. "I'm sure glad they bought it."

"Of course they would," Raven replied. "Good job on the ad lib, by the way. Really impressive."

"'_If you get the slightest bit annoying, I will literally kick you off the roof._' I figured it was something you'd say."

"…Whatever. Well now that we haven't switched back, this whole body-swap might be permanent, so we'd better get the hang of each other's powers."

"Right." The doors opened and a ray of sunlight burst into the elevator. They stepped out and felt a small breeze brush their faces.

"Okay, rookie," Raven said, not hesitating for one second as she immediately took charge. "First things first. My powers are controlled by emotion; the more you feel, the more you hurt. And that 'hurt' could apply to either your enemies or yourself, so always keep you emotions under control. Easiest way to practice controlling your emotions is to meditate."

"Ugh, meditate?" he grumbled.

"Silence!" she shouted. "No backtalk!"

"Okay, fine." He raised his hands in submission. Raven smiled as she beckoned him to sit down in the lotus position. One of the perks of switching bodies was that she was able to express all the emotions she wanted without fear of losing her powers. It was a very new experience for her after being taught for eighteen years to never lose control of one's emotions.

She joined him on the ground. "Now close your eyes and breathe in slowly," she instructed. "Hold it for three seconds, let it out slowly. As you exhale, relieve your mind of any thoughts. Keep your mind empty and pure." Beast Boy obeyed, trying to keep his mind as empty as possible. "Breathe in," Raven said. "Breathe out. Empty your thoughts."

"Rae, I'm not sure _I _can empty out my mind—"

"Shhh," she interrupted. "Talking requires thinking and thinking isn't emptying."

"Rae, did you forget who I am?—"

"You're Beast Boy. Your head is mostly empty half the time anyway so I don't see what's so hard about emptying it now."

"Gee, thanks."

"Shhh. Talking requires thinking and thinking—"

"I got it, okay?"

"Now focus your mind on three things and nothing else but these—peace, calm, and tranquility."

"Peace… Calm… Tranquility."

"Repeat after me: Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." He felt a wave of energy like an ocean crashing into his soul, flowing throughout his body and coursing in his veins.

"Think about a time when you were calm. A time when you were completely at peace. Focus on that time. Focus on that memory."

Beast Boy took a deep breath as he thought about his most important memories. He remembered whatever memory he had of his parents. He remembered his Doom Patrol days and the adventures he had with them. He remembered first meeting the Titans. He remembered Silkie, his little pet from Killer Moth.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not enough," Raven said. "Dig a little deeper into your most personal memories."

He thought of all his times eating tofu. All the fun times he shared with his fellow teammates.

"More."

The times they played volleyball and he got a spike. The time he led his fellow Titans against the Brotherhood of Evil.

"More."

He thought of his first and last date with Terra. The games they played, the food they ate. The Ferris wheel they were on. Her smile. Her laugh.

"…more. "

"_Maybe you should call me Beast Man from now on."_

"_We're having a moment here. Don't ruin it."_

"…focus on me, Beast Boy."

"_You think you're alone, Raven. But you're not." The door slides open, and Raven stands seemingly adamant. But her legs appear weak, as does her eyes. She rushes forward and pulls him in for a hug._

"…Raven."

_She whispered something in his ears so softly that he wasn't sure whether he had truly heard something or not: "Thank you."_

"Beast Boy, open your eyes."

Slowly, he obeyed, and nearly jumped back in surprise as he saw himself hovering five feet about her. "What—what's going on?"

"You're levitating," she answered calmly. "It's a sign your emotions are under control."

"R—Really?"

"You've been struggling, but you just now got it." Raven brushed aside her hair. "The last memory you had must've been a powerful one. You were barely two inches off the ground. Shortly after I said, "More," the last time, you levitated nearly instantly. And when I told you to focus on me, I was testing to see just how well in control you were. You were very much in control because when I told you to open your eyes… I wasn't talking."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When I said 'Open your eyes,' I was only thinking it. When I told you to focus on me, you subconsciously created a telepathic connection between our minds. You thought you heard me say 'Open your eyes' but in reality you were reading my mind."

"Whoa," he gasped. "Totally cool."

"That's the secret in my powers," she explained. "It's truly all that simple. All you have to do is look, _truly_ look. Open your eyes and see. That's when my powers are unlocked."

Beast Boy nodded, only partially understanding. He was mostly silent for the rest of his training as he learned how to channel his powers to levitate objects. He spoke only when he needed to when he taught Raven how to shape shift. "You can't just think about the animal you want to be," he had said. "Imagine the animal. Feel the animal. Be the animal. That's the only way." Thankfully, Raven was a quick learner and transformed into a dark raven on her third try. A mere ten minutes later and she was already transforming into everything from a rat to a bear.

Their training did not go unnoticed by Starfire, who examined them from above, wondering what they were doing. She considering going down there and see if anything was wrong, but decided against it and flew away.

"So how'd I do?" Raven said, panting from exhaustion. Beast Boy didn't blame her. Changing into fifty animals in five minutes would take a toll on anybody.

He smiled and raised his fist. "Couldn't have done it better myself!" he praised. Raven smirked and returned his fist bump.

"You're awfully quiet," she noticed. "Anything wrong?"

"Uh no! I'm just—uh—thinking about what you said before. Peace, calm, and tranquility, right?"

"Heh, that's right," she chuckled. "Thanks."

"_Thank you."_

"You too," Beast Boy returned. The two were interrupted by the sound of metal grinding against itself. They turned around to see the elevator emerge from the floor of the roof and open, revealing Cyborg's frantic face.

"Guys, come quick!"

"What's the matter?" the changeling asked as he walked towards the elevator.

"We've got trouble. Robin's just contacted Titans East to talk to them about the Crowe's."

"And?" the sorceress said.

"They're gone."

…

"How do we know they're not on a mission or something?" Raven asked.

"They most definitely are not," Starfire answered.

Robin typed vigorously as he replayed the video message he had when he had called them. He paused the screen the second the video message started. "There!" he said, pointing at the center of the living room on the screen. "You see that?"

"Chairs?" Beast Boy said.

"Not that, Raven. That little glimmer of light right there. That tiny distortion."

"What is it?"

"What does it look like?"

"Rift…" Raven gasped.

"Bingo. Cyborg, you helped make the security system. Can you hack into it for a sec?"

"Sure thing." Cyborg proceeded to type faster than Beast Boy could comprehend. Within seconds, several screens of binary code popped up and were slowly taken down one by one. It wasn't long before Cyborg managed to get into their system.

"Pull up the security cameras and CCTVs," Robin said. Cyborg did as he was told and rewound the tapes back a couple minutes. Pressing the 'Enter' key, Cyborg stepped back and watched the tape.

The five Titans gazed at the screen as they saw the familiar figure of Rift talking to Speedy before being joined by his four teammates. Rift extended his arm as a portal opened up in the middle of the living room. The five Titans East walked inside slowly, followed by the man in black. The portal closed.

"So that's it?" Cyborg said. "What happened? They went in willingly?"

"No," Raven realized. "They were being controlled."

"Just like the guards at Wayne Industries," Starfire added.

"But why? What does he want?" Beast Boy wonder aloud.

"Wait a second," Robin said, his mask widening in stunning realization. "Rift can open up a portal anywhere, right? Then that means he could be anywhere he wants and go anywhere he wants. And if he can go anywhere he wants…"

"Surprise, Titans," a voice called from behind them. The five Titans spun around to see five Titans staring back at them. "Let's make this nice and simple," Bumblebee grinned as she got into a fighting position. "Wanna dance?"

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Shall we play a little game, my dear readers? Heeheeheehee...**

**Well as you know, both Raven and Beast Boy are still very inexperienced in their new bodies and new powers so clearly they won't be able to fight very well... So for the first time ever... YOU (yes you) THE READER will be able to change their fate. Of course, to respect FanFiction Rules & Guidelines, this will NOT be a Choose Your Own Adventure kind of thing. Simply that I can't choose between two possible choices.**

**In the upcoming battle between the Titans West and Titans East, either Beast Boy or Raven will lose control of their powers and be severely injured. This injury may carry for a certain amount of time but probably won't be anything major. HOWEVER, after the battle, the other one will care for the injured one and they might have a little moment *wink wink* (No kissing. It's far too early for that kind of thing).**

**So REVIEW and cast your vote in the Goblet of Fate, telling me the name of the SOUL you want injured.**

**Depending on whoever wins, the scene and dialogue will be a bit different. Also, the bonus scene that follows will change depending on the winner.**

**If no one votes, both Beast Boy and Raven will be injured and they will share NO moment and NO bonus scene will be shown.**

**If it's a tie, BOTH Beast Boy and Raven will be unharmed but will NOT share a moment. BOTH bonus scenes will be shown, though.**

**Also tell me if you guys like this 'game' or not. If you do, I might do it again later on. If you don't, I will delete this story and cry myself to sleep so you'll never get to know what happens.**

**And if any FanFic admins read this and find it a violation of the rules, I'm terribly sorry and beg you to spare me of any serious trouble. I didn't know any better *puppy face*.**

**The Game begins now. I will be watching...**


	6. Raphael

**Well I guess you guys liked that game didn't you? :)**

**It certainly was an interesting race between Beast Boy and Raven, I'll say that. The first couple reviews were so unanimous I almost felt you guys had an unresolved hatred for that character LOL.**

**But just as it started to even out a bit, the winner came by quite a lot. Who's the winner? Let's find out! But first...**

**SylphofSpace - Thank you! It is true that he wouldn't be able to control Raven's powers, especially after 1 hour (or so) of training.**

**shugokage - Thanks! And thanks for the vote as well.**

**Guest - Umm... I'm sorry, but I really didn't understand what the 'second option' meant. Was that for Beast Boy or Raven? o.0**

**RJay Fame - And your vote adds another one to Beast Boy's death toll.**

**Bluedog197 - Whoa that's a lot! Haha, I did have Aqualad use his water powers (and now that I think about it, how did he fight on land? I'm pretty sure causing every fire hydrant to explode every single time he fought would be a serious problem...), and I hope the moment I wrote is good enough.**

**BizkitRebellion - Thanks for the vote! And there's a chance Raphael will be a bit more than just a mention in this story...**

**titanfan45 - Great point you have about Beast Boy having to heal Raven. As for the elevator scene, I'd think that when they switched, a bit of their personalities and traits would mix in with the other. I tried to have a fairly distinctive difference when they switched. For example, when Raven was Raven, I tried to make her as serious and sarcastic as possible. After the switch, I slowly worked to make her more mischievous and playful. The same goes for Beast Boy.**

**Soulfulbard - Not so much screwing up as it is lack of experience. She'd probably not switch correctly or revert back to human without her wanting to.**

**tacocat15 - Thanks for your vote!**

**krikanalo - Lots of times in body-switching stories, it's the little things like bras that go unnoticed by authors but would play a rather big part in the actual characters... But thanks for the review and vote!**

**daniiibabiii - I hope I updated fast enough!**

**Guest - Haha, thanks for your vote!**

**Soul - Thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**jovanchin2013 - Really good idea you have there. Too bad it didn't play out. I hope you'll like the chapter!**

**gabylokita41 - Haha, no deletion here! I'm really starting to like this story, too. Maybe even more than the Heart trilogy!**

**Okay, okay. On with the story.**

* * *

**Chapter VI - Raphael**

_I didn't notice when the soft pitter-patter of rain had ended. "It stopped raining," I pointed out to Gar._

"_Hmm," he replied, shaking the cup of coffee he held in his hands. Lifting the cup and throwing his head back, he gulped down the remaining coffee and set the glass down, letting the cubes of ice chink against the bottom of the glass cup._

"_Do you have anywhere you need to go?" he asked._

"_Not really. You?"_

"_Not much." He smiled his mysterious smile. I looked outside the window of the bank then back at him. Back out the window, back at him. For some reason, I was compelled to go back to him and listen to the rest of his story. Something about it, whether it was the story itself or perhaps the storyteller, deeply attracted my attention. I looked at him and pointed outside the window. "Would you like to go outside and tell me the rest of that story?"_

"_I thought you might say that," he chuckled. The man stood up and scratched his short green hair in a boyish manner. I smirked—a little more cynically than I had intended—as he did so. If he had sensed any unintended sardonicism, he ignored it and proceeded to nod and lead me out the door._

_The night was cold. I remember because I was shivering when Gar had offered me a jacket. I looked down and saw that I was already wearing a hoodie. Our footsteps made soft 'toip'-ing sounds as we stepped on the puddles left behind by the rain._

_I asked him to tell me more about the story. I didn't want to admit it much, but I was keenly interested in what was going to happen next. I was still a bit unconvinced though. The skeptic in me wondered whether or not he had just made it up._

_Gar said he wished to walk a little before continuing the story. Back when he and Raven were dating, he said, they didn't go to amusement parks or movies that much. Instead, they simply walked around the streets of Jump City, smelling the crisp air and seeing the friendly faces of those walking by. He joked saying that if they had measured the total distance they had walked together, it would be the same as that of the Earth to the Sun ten times._

_He began whistling a little tune as we walked. Something inside me felt at peace._

"_Alright, where was I?" he wondered aloud. "That's right, the fight with Titans East."_

_I breathed in the cold air and rubbed my hands together. "Well you see," he continued. "Raven and Beast Boy were just getting used to each other's powers, so you know that's not going to end well. I can personally tell you it didn't. But I'm rather glad it didn't, because if it had, Raven never would have shown me something that made me first fall in love with her…"_

…

"Titans GO!" both teams of Teen Titans cried.

Speedy immediately leapt into the air and unleashed a barrage of arrows upon the Titans West. Starfire and Cyborg evaded them while Robin blocked the ones coming his way with his bo staff. Beast Boy ducked, narrowly avoiding it, while Raven waved her hand, forgetting that she no longer had her powers. Instantly realizing her mistake when no magical shield appeared, she fell back as she was struck on the shoulder. Grunting, she pulled out the arrow and avoided the other arrows that flew her way.

A starbolt knocked back an unsuspecting Speedy. Mas and Menos snickered and clasped each other's hands, chanting simultaneously, "¡Más y Menos, sí pode—"

"Oh no you don't!" Beast Boy suddenly interrupted as he tackled Menos onto the ground. "Sorry about this, kid," he said as he took Menos by the arm and threw him as far as he could. Menos shrieked in Spanish before he landed with a noticeable _thud_ on the ground.

Cyborg proceeded in a fight with Bumblebee as Robin was locked in hand-to-hand combat with Speedy. "This seems familiar," the robotic man grumbled as he blocked three swift punches from Bumblebee.

"Tell me about it," Robin replied as he evaded a punch from Speedy, grabbed his arm, and put him in an arm-lock. "Don't hurt them!" he called to his teammates. "We need to break the mind-control somehow!"

A rough kick on the back from Aqualad knocked the Boy Wonder down to the ground. "What mind-control?" he jeered. "I feel better than ever!" With this, he raised two outstretched arms and called upon his aquatic powers. The sinks and pipes of the main lobby and kitchen exploded as jets of water shot up into the air. He smiled viciously as he bent the jets of water and shot them directly towards Cyborg. The Titan grunted and shot a sonic blast at the jet of water, causing it to disperse in a splash in the air. As another jetted towards him, he again shot it with a blast. A sharp pang in his back caused him to lose his balance and fall forward. Cyborg fell on his chest with an arrow sticking out of his back just as waves of water began crashing onto him. Groaning as he struggled to stand, he heard the arrow beep three times before electrocuting him. "Not again…" he gasped before falling down in shock.

Speedy, having previously dispatched Robin, then began searching for the next most dangerous Titan—Raven. She had been strangely inactive, which Speedy deduced to mean she was hiding somewhere to prepare a large attack. He dashed throughout the room, evading the starbolts that shot his way, as he searched for her.

Beast Boy was huddling behind the sink, desperately muttering, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Come on! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" before Speedy found him. Letting out a surprised yell, he thrust both palms in front of the archer's face, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The mind-controlled Titan gave him a bewildered look before retrieving an arrow from his bow. Beast Boy started backing away slowly before a large green bear pummeled Speedy into the wall. The bear clawed at him but was knocked back by a swift kick to the chest. The large mammal immediately reverted back to human form before grunting and jumping back to her feet. She clenched her fists and eyes as she shifts into a peacock. As the rogue Titan gave another look of bewilderment, the peacock seemingly sighed in frustration before changing into a monkey and delivering him several sharp jabs in the chest.

Beast Boy let out a sigh of relief as he glanced in Starfire's direction, seeing her engaged in a fist-fight with the Titans East's leader. He was surprised at how adept both women were as a blur of orange and brown fists jabbed at each other. Starfire succeeded in landing an uppercut on Bumblebee, sending her flying. The former then pinned the latter onto the ground. Starfire's eyes began glowing green until Karen merely smiled and shrunk onto the size of a bee. The tiny bee flew towards the Tamaranian's face and delivered a mighty blow on her nose.

Beast Boy gritted his teeth and stepped forward before hearing two synchronized cries: "¡Más y Menos, sí podemos!" He looked over and saw the two twins clasping each other's hands before disappearing in a blur. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a sharp pain on his chest knock him into the air. The twins landed on a wall and jumped back, striking him back down into the ground.

Beast Boy stood up and choked on something. Shaking it off, he saw a distant figure in black slowly walk towards him. Raising his fist, Beast Boy shouted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The man evidently felt a force, as he was pushed back a few inches, but shook it off and kept on walking. Beast Boy looked back and mentally concentrated on a nearby pan. He watched as it levitated itself and flew towards his target. The man merely knocked it away with a punch and kept on walking. The changeling began to panic and stretched his palms forward. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" he cried, causing a nearby lamp to explode. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!" He heard a bunch of dishes shatter in the air. A rough uppercut on his chin knocked him backwards and onto the ground.

He stood up with the taste of blood in his mouth. His mind was in a haze. He felt himself being lifted up by a fist. Another fist struck his face. Lifted him again. Struck him. He fell onto the ground. A foot kicked him roughly. Lifted him and repeated the process. It wasn't soon before he lost vision in his left eye and fell to the ground. Beast Boy coughed up a tooth. He placed a hand on his sides and felt a rib give way. He shifted his position—a difficult task as he lost all feeling in his legs—and spluttered blood. He saw a man wearing black clothes tower above him. He felt as if the man was snickering, gazing down upon him as if looking at a tiny, helpless, worthless ant.

He disappeared in a blink, leaving behind a bright distortion of light. The Titans East, as if on cue, abruptly ended their attacks and ran into the portal, disappearing into specks of light. Beast Boy saw a green figure run into the portal before it closed. Then darkness covered his eyes as he was eclipsed in utter silence.

…

Raven gasped as she dropped onto the ground, panting on all fours on the hard concrete. She grunted and looked up, coming face to face with Rift crouching before her. "I knew it was you," he said in his same calm, callous voice.

"Rift!" she said between gritted teeth. She stood up with some difficulty and stared into his mask. This was the first time she was able to get a good look at him and notice some of the more subtle details of his outfit. He wore a black bodysuit that covered his entire body along with a silvery belt on his midsection. Two boots with silver outlines covered his feet and two black gloves covered his hands. His bodysuit formed a hood at the top that covered a black mask that looked like black strips of fabric wound around his face. Two tiny slits revealed his cold eyes.

Raven looked around and saw the Metropolis skyline. She and Rift were standing on one of the skyscrapers that towered above the city. She turned attention back to the man before her. "Who—" she panted, feeling her lungs begin to burn. "Who are you?"

The man stepped closer until he felt her breath crash against his mask. "You know who I am," Rift answered mysteriously. "You know who _both_ of I am."

"Both—of you?"

"Both of me you have seen and saw. You believe I am not, but in truth… _I am_."

"What does that even mean?" she barked.

"We are two, I am," the man in the mask continued. "Bound by a Deal with the Devil. You have met another one like me before." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We wish two for two absolute opposites, and yet wish still for the same thing."

In a flash, the man grabbed her shoulders with his hands and slowly led her towards the edge of the tower. "What—do you want?" she huffed.

"One of I seek Sin," he hissed.

"What do you want?" Raven repeated, feeling herself at the very edge of the building.

"The other I seek…" he said softly, as if whispering to a dead soul. "…something much different."

"What?"

Rift brought his lips to her ears and whispered in a ghastly voice, "Redemption."

With that, he pushed her off the building and watched as she fell and fell and fell.

Raven awoke with a jump. "Whoa!" she heard. "Slow down there, B.B."

"What happened?" she muttered, rubbing her head and feeling the ground soaking wet. She looked around and saw she was back at Titans Tower.

"They disappeared," Robin answered. "He came near the end of the battle and ordered the others to leave."

"You had jumped in after him, friend," Starfire continued. "We were worried until you suddenly appeared before us. Within seconds, you had woken up. We feared something terrible had happened."

"What happened in that battle anyway? You seemed a bit off," Robin said.

"I—It's nothing," Raven replied. Looking around, she asked aloud, "Where's Be—I mean where's Raven?"

"She was injured badly," Cyborg said. "She's gone to a trance to heal herself. We put her in the med bay just a couple minutes ago."

The sorceress was silent and slowly made her way towards the elevator, carefully walking around the damaged furniture as she did so. She ignored Cyborg and Robin's complaints about how much it would cost to repair all the damage and instead found herself thinking about Beast Boy. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised he was badly hurt. After all, her powers were very much hard to control; how could she expect him to master them with only an hour of training? But still, she started feeling something strange and indescribable—the same feeling she felt when she had accidentally hurt him during their fight with Rift and sent him flying towards Andern Falls. Was it worry? Guilt? Fear? She decided to shake off whatever feelings she had and focus on the task at hand.

The elevator took her to the med bay, where she saw herself in a resting position floating about a foot above the bed. She cocked her head slightly to the side as she approached Beast Boy. So that's what she looked like when she was in a recovery trance.

Raven brushed aside the messed up hair on her body and noticed the blood on her forehead. "Whatever happened to you must have been bad," she mumbled to herself. "Poor thing. You probably didn't even know how to fight yet. It must've been bad, standing there defenseless while getting beat up over and over again." She sighed. "You'll be fine, Beast Boy. I'll make sure of it."

…

One could've called it a modern day Knights of the Round Table, and one would not be very wrong. It certainly was round, that fact was the same, but it was much larger than the one in Arthurian tales, and seated one thousand men and women. The chairs were all the same height and style, as the people here knew no sense of superiority or inferiority. But they did understand respect and were very much devoted to it, so therefore the chairs were seated according to one's position in the world's hierarchy. And thus congregated one thousand men and women—the New Azarath Council.

A little bit of history and geography is appropriate. The New Azarath Council's congregation was held in the Hall of Assemblage inside the Azarathean Palace, located within the center of the Gardens of Dimanesper. The Gardens, along with Sorcerer Leon's Square and the Holy See, make up what was known as Corpacean City, the capital of New Azarath.

Azarath's ancient history began several millennia ago when the Demons waged war against the humans in an event known as the Sorcerer-Demon War. The first Azar led those gifted with magic against the Demons, eventually defeating them and casting them off as formless energy in another dimension while she gathered up the gifted humans and created a new world for them—Azarath. Her people lived in peace and adopted a pacifist society, choosing to focus their time on the growing of their world and learning more about their magical capabilities. Meanwhile, Azar grew weak and eventually passed on her powers, knowledge, wisdom, and soul onto a woman who had just become of age. This woman became the second incarnation of Azar and would lead Azarath for hundreds of years.

One thousand years ago, the pure dark energy of the Demons began to take form, merging and condensing to form a creature known as Trigon. The Demon began formulating a plan to take his revenge and conquer the world, which led him to impregnate a young mortal woman named Angela Roth, impregnating her with the half-demoness child Raven. Sixteen years later, he used Raven as a portal to escape his dimensional prison and destroyed Azarath. Azar used her body to protect her people, allowing them to live while her spirit once again was transferred and merged into another young woman who would become the third Azar.

Two years later, New Azarath now stands where the ruins of Old Azarath once was. However, all is not what it used to be two years ago. Very much shaken by Trigon's attack, the New Azarath Council began to take on a much more radical view.

"That's impossible!" a man named Father Therion exclaimed as he slammed the table with his fist. "How dare you—all of you—come to such conclusions?"

"It may be the only way," another man returned. "Or have you forgotten what had happened two years ago?"

"And others are to pay for the actions of a demon?" the Father replied. "Perhaps some action must be taken but _this_? We are a pacifist society. Must I remind you what 'pacifist' means?"

"It means peace," an elderly woman said. "So should we do everything we can to spread the very peace we have? Should we know share it with all worlds?"

"Not this way," another man answered, backing up Therion. "How can we possibly teach others peace… by force? The entire thing reeks of irony. It makes absolutely no sense!"

"It was because of evil in the world that the Demons first manifested," came another voice. "If we were to remove the evil, we would remove all chances something as powerful as Trigon can exist again."

"But not like this! The Weapons we have created were to be used against Trigon or any other extremely dangerous enemies. Not so we can conquer other worlds and force them to assimilate to our peaceful ways."

"Why not?" a thin woman with a shrill voice said. "We have developed such advanced technology and societal methods far beyond those of other worlds. Why should we not help them advance?"

"Think about the repercussions!" a younger man cried.

"Think about the possibilities," the woman returned.

"Her Holiness Azar would never agree!"

"Her Holiness is not here, is She?"

"She is on Her yearly pilgrimage but will arrive soon!"

"Surely it is through Her will that our idea has been conceived?"

"Don't you dare blaspheme Her like that!"

"You will learn your place, Lieutenant!"

"How can I?" the young man fumed. "Or have you forgotten on what grounds we have made this world? Azarath is a place of peace—a sanctuary. We know no superiority do we not? Who are you to say you know what Her Holiness desires?"

"Should Her Holiness Azar not return within three days and the New Azarath Council has a three-fourths agreement, the Interuniversal Cleansing Act will begin effective immediately," the shrill voice echoed.

"Since when were those rules created, Clergywoman Sorenda?"

The young lieutenant opened his mouth to say more but was silenced by another man who sat beside him. "Raphael," the man said. "Calm down. It's over."

"But Etzel—"

The man glared at him, causing the young lieutenant to shut his lips and lower his head.

"Is there anything you wish to say, Captain Etzel?" an elderly man asked weakly.

"Just one thing, Don Quixote," the man said calmly as he stood up. "There is legally one person who has a say in this matter."

"And what would that be, Captain?" Clergywoman Sorenda asked in her cold, calculating voice. "Her Holiness Azar is away on a pilgrimage. Our Lady Arella is safeguarding the demon Trigon as always. Professors Gast and Wintergreen have already agreed. Unless you were to go back in time and consult Sorcerer Leon, who else is there to question our plan?"

Captain Etzel revealed a tiny smile as he glanced at Lieutenant Raphael. Turning to face the entire congregation, he answered, "Our Lady Raven of Earth."

…

Beast Boy woke the next day. Because he was in such physical and mental shock, the Titans agreed it was best he stayed in bed for the day. He found the bed quite comforting and enjoyed having yet another vacation after their stay at Andern Falls.

"Hey," Raven greeted as she entered the med bay with some orange juice. "Feeling any better?"

"I dunno," he replied with a grin. "I feel like I'm gonna be handicapped forever…" Raven made a face and handed him his drink.

"How long are you going to lie there and complain?"

"Forever," he answered childishly. "It's so boring being in a hospital bed. I mean it's a fun vacation and all but there's nothing to do!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Well what do you expect me to do? Juggle peanuts while riding a pink elephant?"

"No… just," he thought for a moment. "Hey! How 'bout you read me one of the stories in your books!"

"I don't think you'd like them, Beast Boy. Unless you're interested in the works of Azarath's version of Aristotle."

"Fine. How about movies? Got any Azarathean movies?"

"Nooo…." She rolled her eyes. If it wasn't her own body that was injured, she would've left him right then and there.

"Yeah you do. I saw that CD in your room once. It was like 'Magic Duels' or something?"

"W—what?"

"Yeah 'Magic Duels' something. Lemme watch that?"

She suddenly realized what Beast Boy was talking about. Back in her years in Azarath, she used to be an expert on Magic Duels—Azarath's version of sword-fighting incorporated with magic. She had used to film short videos of her and her partner, Raphael, magic dueling. The third time she came to visit Azarath a few years ago, she was given a copy of the video and an Azarathean projector so she could watch it on Earth.

"No—I'd rather not show it, Beast Boy."

"Come on! I'm a sick and dying patient here."

"You're about to be a straight up dead patient!"

"Please! Just show me! Magic duels sounds so cool!"

Raven clutched her green hair in her hands. "Fine! Azar, you're such a baby!"

Beast Boy smiled his same ridiculously childish smile as he watched Raven leave the med bay. Restless in his bed as if he was a little boy waiting for a new toy, he waited until Raven returned with a CD and a strange looking machine. Grumbling about how she suddenly turned into his nanny, she turned on the machine and inserted the CD.

The video started immediately. Azarathean text on a black screen were the first things Beast Boy saw. Then he saw a fourteen year old girl with gray skin and indigo hair, posing next to a slightly older boy with gray, unruly hair and tanned skin. They both wore matching yellow and gray outfits and wielded a sword. "That's me and Raphael," Raven said. Beast Boy didn't realize how handsome Raphael actually was.

The video cut to them on an open field, where they stood at a distance, each staring into each other's souls and slowly raising their swords. In complete unison, they shifted into a guard position. Then they acrobatically leapt into the air and fired a bolt of light from their swords. The video showed them engaged in a rapid sword fight with one another, incorporating their magical abilities as well. As Raven watched, a small smile sparked on her face as she remembered those times while Beast Boy simply stared in awe. After a few minutes, the video shifted into a behind the scenes take, which showed some people in Azarathean clothes congratulating Raven and Raphael on their excellent work. It should the two duelers drinking water, practicing with each other, laughing. Raven in there… she was smiling. She looked happy.

"Who is that?" Beast Boy wondered. "It—It's her… It's Raven. But this isn't the same Raven standing next to me, is it? That girl in there… she's not the same one I've known for the past four years." He threw a hidden glance at Raven who stood next to his bed. He saw it then for the first time. She was smiling. Not the same sarcastic smile she had always worn when he knew her. Not the same sardonic chuckle of relative amusement. She was actually—really—smiling. "That girl in front of me now…" he thought. "She's not the same one who's been friends with me for four years… not the same one who had fought crime with me."

He turned back to the television and saw that same Raven who stood next to him. There she was, fourteen years of age and smiling like a normal girl. He saw another shot of her, sword in hand, engaged in a faux sword fight with Raphael. He watched as she jumped into the air, slashed the area inches away from her partner's nose, before expertly landing on her feet and throwing back an orb of darkness. "This girl," Beast Boy thought. "Is much… cooler. But that word's just not right. It's not cool… it's beautiful, almost. Beautiful in Raven's own way. She's… cool."

He watched as a voice said, "Say 'Hi' to the camera, Raven." He watched as she looked at the camera, gave a small smile and raised her hand. "Hey," she said. The video ended.

"Wow…" Beast Boy gasped. "Was that really you? You were so… different back then."

"Yeah, I was a lot different," Raven said wistfully as she took the DVD. "I was taught to control my emotions so normally I'm like what I am now. But whenever I was with Raphael—well, he had his own way of making me smile." She looked at the CD with reflective eyes before telling Beast Boy, "I'll be right back," and leaving.

Beast Boy slowly became aware of his reddening face. He felt his cheeks with his palms and noticed how warm his face was. He also started to feel his heart, which beat faster than usual. "Wh—what's this?" he asked no one in particular. "Is it… hot in here?"

The changeling looked over to his side and saw his empty cup next to him. Reaching over and picking it up, he held it before his face and examined his reflection. He looked over every single part of Raven's face, hair, and eyes, noticing how strange it was to see her face so up close. Slowly, he managed a smile. "So that's what you look like when you smile, Raven," he said. "You should smile more often. It looks better on you."

…

Raven walked around her room and placed the CD and player into a cardboard box on the corner. Scratching her head and letting out a sigh, she realized that this might be her last time in her own room for a while. Until they switch back bodies, she'd have to spend her nights in—and she shuddered horribly at the thought—Beast Boy's room.

The sorceress looked around and thought it best to Beast Boy-proof the room. Magic was inaccessible so she'd have to do things the old-fashioned way. She knew her priorities—the first thing to lock away and keep out of Beast Boy's sight was her magical artifacts. Having the entire city sucked into an alternate dimension probably wouldn't be the most convenient thing to happen at this time.

She started gathering some books and trinkets until she came across her bottom drawer. She dropped her other items and opened the drawer, searching through it meticulously. A difficult decision came upon her—what was she to do with her underwear? Surely she couldn't let Beast Boy even share the same room with her undergarments let alone see them or even _use_ them. But this is underwear, one of the most basic and essential pieces of clothing there was. And surely letting Beast Boy use her underwear was way better than letting him go commando in her body.

She dug into the drawer and sifted through the undergarments. "Maybe I'll just hide the good ones," she said to no one in particular. "Beast Boy can have the simpler and older ones that I'll burn later when we switch back…"

She was just in the middle of lifting up a pair of bras when the door suddenly crept open to reveal Starfire standing at the door. "WHAT? BEAST BOY?" the Tamaranian exploded.

"Star, wait!—" Raven immediately said, dropping her underwear. But the princess's eyes were already burning green as she leapt and pounced on Raven, grabbing her collar with her horrifically powerful hands.

"What do you think you are doing in Raven's room? Touching Raven's undergarments?" she screamed. "Answer me, Beast Boy!"

"Starfire I—"

"Don't you 'Starfire' me!" she fumed. "How dare you intrude in our friend's room when she is injured and violate her privacy and bras?"

"Starfire!"

"You shall pay for this you morthagarbling skitzoblarggh!"

"Starfire!" Raven shouted as her friend raised a starbolt. "Starfire, it's me! Raven! I'm Raven!"

"What?"

Raven gently placed her hands on the alien princess's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "It's me, Star," she said. "It's Raven."

"R—Raven?" The starbolt faded as Starfire gazed at the boy before her. "Raven!" she shouted.

"Shhh!" Raven darted past her and shut the door.

"My friend, how are you—"

"Shh, don't talk so loud! The others will hear you," Raven said as she placed her finger on her lips.

Starfire lowered her voice. "How did this happen? You are Beast Boy?"

"Yes, Starfire. I'm Beast Boy and Beast Boy is me. We switched bodies," Raven explained.

"Just like we did a long time ago?"

"Sort of. But this time it wasn't because of the Puppet King."

"How did this happen? And for how long?"

"Not so long… It happened at Andern Falls. The first night we stayed there. We found this weird restaurant and the cook offered us some wine."

"You told me you do not drink alcoholic beverages anymore!"

"Starfire, I know you sometimes slip some Tamaranian cocktails into your drink. You told me before. Why can't I drink Earthly alcohol once in a while?"

"Fine," she grumbled. "Please continue."

"Thank you. Well Beast Boy and I drank the wine and we switched bodies. We've been trying to figure out how it happened and how to switch back but so far we have nothing. The restaurant and the cook disappeared and we're stuck."

"Why did you not tell us? We could have helped."

"We didn't want to ruin your vacation… And we thought that our team would've been at a disadvantage if you knew what happened and refused to let us fight. If we had told you guys, you wouldn't have let us fight the Titans East and you would've been outnumbered 3 to 5! It's times like these that Beast Boy and I have to fight. We're beginning to adjust and with a little more practice we'll be used to our new powers in no time."

"I still do not understand. Why is it that we cannot tell them now?"

"Soon we will, Star. Soon. But not yet."

"But—"

"Can you please just trust me on this, Starfire?"

She sighed. "Okay, Raven. I will."

Raven thanked her and the two female Titans made their way out of the room. Raven walked towards the elevator and rode down into the med bay, where to her surprise she saw Beast Boy standing up next to the bed.

"Beast Boy!" she cried. "What are you doing? You can't walk yet!"

"Then what am I doing right now, Raven?" he teased as he gently put one foot forward. "Your magic did all the work already. Your body completely healed itself." He took another step, then another. Suddenly his foot lost control and he slipped forward, falling straight into Raven's arms.

The two looked at each other for a split second before they pulled apart. "Let's go up and tell the others," Raven said as she turned around to hide a blushing face.

"Yeah, let's go," he agreed as the two Titans made their way to the elevator.

Beast Boy's walking quickly improved as they made their way to the living room, and by the time they had made it he was feeling as if he was never hurt at all.

"I want to see Raven," they heard a voice say. "Just let me see her. She knows me."

"Yeah, right!" Cyborg said. "Who are you? Are you with Rift?" Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other and quickened their pace. By the time they made it to the living room, they saw Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin in a fighting stance facing a man about their age.

The man noticed the two new figures that approached. His eyes lightening up, he waved his arm and cried with a smile, "Raven!"

Beast Boy took a step back in shock, as did Raven. They both knew who this man was. "Who is that, Raven?" Robin said. "Do you know him?"

Beast Boy gave a half-nod and said, "He—he's an old friend. He's… Raphael."

As the three Titans lowered their weapons, Raphael said with a serious face, "Raven, I'd love to talk but we're in trouble."

"Trouble?" Raven blurted out. "What trouble?"

"New Azarath is preparing its Weapons. They are thinking about using them to conquer other worlds in order to enforce peace. And right now you're the only one that can stop them."

"M—me?" Beast Boy said.

"You need to speak to them and convince them otherwise. If it doesn't work… well, you know how powerful the Weapons are."

…

Rift walked inside the New Azarath Palace donning a black cloak over his suit. Walking past the unsuspecting flocks of people as he made his way up the golden stairs, he made his way around several hallways, slipping past the guards before hiding in a spare drawing room. He turned around and came face to face with a middle aged woman with cold eyes.

"Greetings, Clergywoman Sorenda," he said.

"Greetings, Rift," came the reply.

"Is it done? Have you convinced the Council to release the Weapons?"

The woman nodded. "It is so. However, the pesky Captain Etzel pointed out that if Lady Raven were to come here and voice her opinion, the plan may very well fail."

"I thought so. I paid a visit to the Titans and personally handicapped Raven myself—or at least, Raven's body."

"What do you mean 'Raven's body'?"

"Nothing. I suppose you've played your part, Sorenda. Now it's time I played mine." He glanced at the clock in the room. It was made Azarathean-style, but he was able to make out the time. "My control should be wearing off right about now."

"What do you mean—" the woman said. She suddenly gasped and felt as if she was pushed back by an invisible force. Regaining her balance, she gazed around with a confused look before seeing Rift and taking a step back in fear. "You!" she cried in horror. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Hello, Clergywoman Sorenda," Rift greeted casually. "My name is Rift. But I don't think you'd need to know that anymore."

"Wh—what? I'm calling the guards!"

"Alright. But before you do, let me ask you something." The man reached into his cloak and pulled out a small revolver. "Earthly technology," he explained as he brandished the gun before the woman. "Instantly recognizable. I wonder… if New Azarath were to unleash massively powerful Weapons onto worlds it deems too violent and chaotic, and then they found one of their most respected clergywoman dead through an Earthly bullet, how would they react? Let's find out." And with this and pointed the gun at the clergywoman and fired. She stepped back with a loud gasp, clutching her heart before collapsing. A pool of blood trickled through her clothes and eclipsed her cold body.

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Alright, alright. I'll admit it wasn't the best chapter so far. To me, this really was the awkward 'middle' chapter between two important ones. Next chapter will be much better. Promise!**

**Thumbs up for killing off Sorenda?**

**Thumbs up for Rift being a devious ass?**

**As for the game, if it wasn't painfully clear already, Beast Boy was the winner. He won 8-4? (I forgot exactly how much but it was by a lot). I'm thinking I'll do the game one or two more times. I'm not sure how significant the second game will be but the last game with be extremely significant in the story.**

**As for the moment... Sorry if it seemed awkward. I hope it satisfied. But really, there couldn't have been a real MOMENT between them because after all, they still see themselves as friends. They will have plenty of more moments later on, promise. At least now Beast Boy is starting to see that he's falling in love with her :)**

**Now I know what you're asking now... the "What if?"s.**

**Well Beast Boy was the winner. That means Beast Boy was the one to be injured and Raven would take care for him. It also means that Starfire would've been the one to find out the secret first, Raven would've had her encounter with Rift at the Metropolis skyline, and Rift would've killed Sorenda. And most importantly, Beast Boy starts to have feelings for Raven.**

**If Raven had been the winner, Raven would've been injured and Beast Boy would've taken care of her. Cyborg would've been the one to find out the secret, and the Crowe's would have visited the Titans. The Crowe's, to cheer Raven up, would have told her the story of how they first met. No encounter with Rift, Sorenda would've lived, and Raven would've started to have feelings for Beast Boy.**

**Just a couple last things I wanted to say. The story is divided into several "arches" if you will. Each arch will have a different tone in the story and a different feel and is separated by the italicized segments between Gar and the narrator. The first arch (Chapters 1-5) had a very light-hearted and whimsical tone (hence the humor). The next five chapters will be focus on Beast Boy and Raven's upcoming relationship.**

**Finally, a tiny teaser for the next chapter:**

**The cook's identity will be revealed. And it will be a shocker.**


	7. New Azarath

**Sorry this took so long to upload, guys. I'm finding less and less time to write this story than I had hoped. I'm trying my best, so please be patient. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the length it took to write it. And PS the big reveal is here!**

**Guest - Using force to bring peace is actually an idea that's been in our world history for quite a while. Lot's of the greatest empires (i.e. Roman, Mongol, etc.) had that mindset while conquering other countries. And you're right when you think it's strange that the people of Azarath would think of this. I wonder if there's a certain someone involved, possibly manipulating them?... Hmm...**

**Guest - And thus the Plot Hole is formed! Haha, that completely escaped my mind. Good eye you got there! I could make up an excuse and say she was a bit drunk, but I'd be lying to myself.**

**IshylovesGeorgeShelley - Then read on and find out who he is! It'll be a shocker, I'm sure!**

**RJay Fame - Thanks! Hope this chapter is just as awesome!**

**Bluedog197 - Interesting guess. Let's see if you're right or not! I'll remember that story and I'll check it out if I have time.**

**shugokage - Thanks. Hope you enjoy this one.**

**FireHippie - When will the other two find out, I wonder? Read on and see! :)**

**LurkingShadowWillow - He's just a character I can't seem to forget. And he does provide an interesting dynamic. Raven's childhood is so unexplored that it would only seem natural she has at least one important friend. And he might play an even bigger role in this story than he did before... Especially considering his past romance with Raven...**

**Kaarlinaa - Thanks! I'll dish out as many as I can! Expect a lot in the near future :)**

**koryandrs - I'd imagine a society like Azarath that wastes no time with wars would eventually find something to do like improve their technology. Plus, magic, right? What would that be called? Magitechnology? As for Professor Wintergreen, that really wasn't an intended reference to Slade's Wintergreen. Because Azarath's citizens are almost never mentioned at all in DCverse, I'll normally use names from other sources of literature. Quite nearly every Azarathean name I have comes from somewhere. I don't remember exactly how I got Wintergreen, but he's in no relation to the ACTUAL Wintergreen. And as for the sin and redemption thing, that's a pretty important part of Rift's backstory. More on that later.**

* * *

**Chapter VII - New Azarath**

"Sorry guys," Beast Boy said to the others, "but Raphael and I need to talk in private." He looked at Raven and motioned her towards their guest. "Beast Boy, do you mind helping me lead Raphael somewhere else?"

"Sure thing, Raven," the sorceress nodded as she walked forward towards her childhood friend. Stopping for a moment to take in a good view of him, she realized how much he had grown since they've last met. Four years had gone by so fast, it seemed, and the nineteen year old Raphael now seems vastly different than the fifteen year old one. His hair was a bit longer and was still dark brown and unruly, but settled quite nicely. He had a noticeably larger frame—she suspected he still worked out often in his years of training as an officer—but his hands were still rough and strong due to years of being a poor farmer. A small stubble was visible just under his chin. He was wearing what she guessed was his lieutenant uniform—a blue and brown military uniform covered with a brown cloak.

"Follow me," she said to him as she turned around and walked into the hallway with Beast Boy. The three went into the weight room where Raven promptly said, "We need to talk, Raphael."

"You must be Beast Boy, right?" he said with a friendly smile. "I'm Raphael."

"Actually," the changeling interrupted, "that's kind of what we need to talk to you about." He took a deep breath and said, "_I'm_ Beast Boy."

"Wait," Raphael smiled, believing it to be a joke. "What are you talking about, Raven? I—"

"I'm Raven," the green boy then said. "And we need your help, Raphael."

"Wait… what? What's going on?"

"We've been asking ourselves that for the past three days…" Beast Boy muttered.

Raven rolled her eyes and looked at her childhood friend in the eyes. "I'm Raven. Our bodies were switched a few days ago so I'm in his body," she motioned with her head at Beast Boy's direction. "And he's in mine."

"Switched bodies? How did that happen? I thought magic doesn't exist on Earth," he protested.

"Our magic doesn't exist on Earth. It might have been some other kind of magic but we have no idea how it had happened," Raven explained. "All we know is that three days ago, a man gave us this wine. For some reason, I wasn't able to sense its magical properties and we both drank it. The next morning, we woke up to find ourselves in each other's bodies. The others don't know yet besides the girl."

Raphael furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his face. "Judging by that, it must have been some kind of body-switching potion."

She nodded in return. "That was what I think, too. I was never the master in potions but you told me you studied them a lot, right? Do you think you can help us?"

He slowly shook his head. "You know very well that body-switching potions are almost an urban legend. They aren't impossible but they might as well be. All potions are very abundant with magical properties. In many ways they're concentrated, latent magic. Body-switching spells themselves are very difficult to perform, but to take that magic and condense it into a potion with what I'm assuming is a permanent effect… it's extremely difficult."

"But there has to be a way. After all, I've seen it with my own eyes!"

"Hmmm… Do you remember Captain Etzel Giles? He's the leader of my division. He is a master in potions, studied them extensively. If I'm right, I think he was working on taking the properties of the body-switching spell and using them to create a potion. He told me he shelved that project a few years ago due to lack of time but he already has a couple untried experimental potion recipes. I'll go talk to him when I have time and see if there's anything he can do."

"Thank you, Raphael," Raven smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Raven," he replied. "You know, you have that same smile even with a different face."

"Um, helloooo?" Beast Boy interrupted, waving his arms frantically. "Aren't you forgetting someone here?"

Raven's smile broke into a frown as she remembered the green boy who was inhabiting her body. "Oh, that's right. We should be getting to New Azarath, shouldn't we? The others must be waiting."

Beast Boy's face slunk as Raphael's lit up in surprise. "The others? They're coming?"

She shrugged. "They've never been to New Azarath before. This is the best time to show them, wouldn't it? And besides, they would get suspicious if they see the person they think is Beast Boy go along, right? Having all five of us go would make things less suspicious."

"You're right. I'll explain to you the situation while we get there. There's a lot to fill you up on."

…

A shadow as black as a raven emerged in thin air like a crack of lightning. The shadow grew and grew, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that blew away the surrounding dust. The shadow—now a massive orb of darkness—dissipated and vanished, revealing in its wake six young men and women. The four who were not native to this land were immediately taken aback by the sheer magnificence of what lay before them.

Beast Boy nearly fell back in awe and wonder. Directly in front of him was an enormity of buildings and castles, all glowing and glistening in the light. As far as the eye could see, buildings like skyscrapers and castles made for gods made his eyes sparkle. A wall like that of a fortress's towered before them, hiding the rest of the magnificent city behind them. It looked like heaven.

"Guys," Raphael said with a grin. "Welcome to New Azarath."

"Wow," Cyborg and Robin cried in unison while Starfire let out a "Glorious!"

Raven tried her best to held back a smile as she stepped forward and turned around, standing in the light as she said to her friends, "Well what are you waiting for?" She turned towards Raphael. "It's… Raphael, right? Lead the way!"

"Sure thing, Beast Boy," he said with a playful smile as he beckoned the others to follow. They made their way across the outskirts of New Azarath—an empty badlands area just outside the city—until they reached the grand walls.

The Titans watched curiously as Raphael placed his right hand on the golden barrier and closed his eyes, chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." In an instant, the wall immediately before them emitted a bright radiance and disappeared in the light, revealing an enormous gate about the size of a small building on Earth, protected by a magical barrier and two golden griffins on both sides. "Kalazon Racashos Endarath." The griffins burst to life and snarled, looking directly at each person before them. "Vasirix Zendrien Azarath." The griffins raised their heads and let out a mighty roar as the magical barrier shattered, granting the Titans passage into the city.

"This way," Raphael said as he briskly walked into the city. "There's lots of people here so don't lose yourself." The Titans quickly followed him, with Beast Boy stopping for a split second to look behind him. The gate had already disappeared, instead replaced with a wall.

Raphael led the Titans seemingly in circles through the flocks and crowds of Azarathean civilians. Beast Boy saw that while some wore cloaks, many others donned simple silk clothes. He noticed that many of the people stopped what they were doing and stared at the Titans as they walked by. Perhaps it was because those who aren't from Azarath stand out like a sore thumb. Maybe it was because a few people recognized him as Raven.

"Ever since the Fall of Trigon," Raphael said as they walked through the busy streets. "The leaders of New Azarath became very paranoid. It wasn't long before we split into two political parties—the Returners and the Renewers. That was shortly before I became an officer.

"The Returners are the conservatives who wished to keep our pacifist society as it had always been. The Renewers are the liberals who wanted to use the Weapons. I'm a Returner, myself, as are many of those in the Council. However, the Renewers are growing in numbers, even to civilians as well, especially since they are led by Clergywoman Sorenda."

"Sorenda?" Raven said before quickly adding, "Who's that?"

"She's one of the most respected political leaders of Azarath. Respected—not liked. She's a cold woman to the core but no doubt is very persuasive. She was the one who first conceived the idea of the Interuniversal Cleansing Act—her flowery name for us using the Weapons to conquer other worlds."

"What are those things you keep mentioning?" Robin asked. "What weapons?"

"Weapons, Robin—your name is Robin, right?—Weapons with a capital 'W'. Basically so many years ago when Azarath was first created, a legendary man named Sorcerer Leon—who had led us against the demons in a great war—divided his power and life-force into seven artifacts called the Seven Weapons. The Ring of Azar to protect its wearer from those who wish them harm. The Crystal Sword to vanquish one's enemies with its legendary blade. The Solar Wand to enhance one's one magic one-thousand-fold. The Lunar Pandora to create a limitless army of soldiers made of crystal and shadows. The Stellar Crown to force one's will onto others. The Master Cloak to grant its user protection from death. The Book of Peace with the power to create either peace or chaos. These seven, should they fall into the wrong hands, could be the end of everything as we know it. That's why we have to do anything we can to keep the Renewers from persuading the rest of the Council."

Eventually they came to what seemed to be a pedestal with a light blue sphere the size of a basketball mounted on it, surrounded by gold plates. The Teen Titans watched as a small group of people placed their hands on it. Within seconds, they disappeared in a flash of light, consumed by the sphere.

"Whoa!" Cyborg jumped back in surprise. "What the freak is that?"

"It's a transport sphere," Raphael explained. "They don't have these on Earth?" The Earthlings shook their head. "Basically it teleports you to various locations across the world. The most efficient method of travel. I don't know how you people could live without it," he laughed. "Here, follow me. I'll show you how it works."

The teenage heroes were reluctant to follow him, but seeing as they had nowhere else to go, made their way to the pedestal. There, Raphael spun the plates and rings around the sphere until it glowed a majestic gold. "This'll take us to the Azarathean Palace," he muttered. "All hands on deck! Let's mosey!" The six placed their right hands on the golden sphere, with Beast Boy being the last to do so.

In a flash of light, he felt the sphere twist away from him and re-doubled his grip as if his palm was stuck to it with an industrial adhesive. The next thing he knew everything went black and he was pressed very hard from all directions. He could not breathe, there was an invisible force tightening around his chest. The darkness then exploded into an array of colors from green to blue to indigo to gold. His eyeballs were being forced back into his head and his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull. His head felt like he was spinning in all sorts of directions.

Then it stopped and the next thing he knew, he was panting on the ground. "Whoa, dude," he choked. "That was something."

He looked up and saw Cyborg rubbing his head and moaning. Starfire was trying to regain her balance and Robin was massaging his neck. "I am never going on that thing again," Beast Boy whined.

Raven and Starfire's eyes widened. "What?" Robin said. "Wouldn't you be used to these things, Raven?" he asked.

The two girls, knowing the secret, looked at Beast Boy in shock. He opened his mouth with a blank expression until Raphael jumped in and answered, "It's because the transport spheres are different depending on what area of New Azarath it's in. You see, where were on the outer edge of New Azarath where they have the cheaper ones. I'm used to them, you see. I grew up in the farms and we would use those kinds to sell our crops. Raven's probably used to the ones they have around the Palace, the much better ones that aren't as uncomfortable."

"Yeah, that's it," Beast Boy answered with a meek smile. "What? Besides, it's been years since I've used one. Can't really blame me for it, can you?"

"Huh, I guess not," Robin shrugged. "Alright, so what do we do now?"

"There's not much you all can do. Raven has to attend the next Council meeting and somehow persuade the people there to vote against the Interuniversal Cleansing Act. As long as less than three-quarters of the Council vote for it, the Act will fail."

"Three-quarters?" Raven muttered under her breath. Making sure no one was looking at her, she whispered something into Beast Boy's ear. He nodded.

"What do you mean three-quarters vote?" he asked. "I never heard of that kind of rule."

"Right. About that. Clergywoman Sorenda claims there is a hidden clause. Something in the fine print about a three-quarters vote being able to take the place of Her Holiness Azar's opinion."

"Then how come I've never heard of it?" Beast Boy returned, trying his best to sound as much like Raven as possible.

"That's the thing. I'm looking into it now—Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire, you might need to help me with that by the way—but I suspect there is some kind of corruption in the Council. As far as I know, nothing like that 'Three-fourths' thing exists."

"Corruption?" Raven asked, knowing that her cover wouldn't be blown with a question like this. "What do you mean corruption? I mean this is Azarath we're talking about."

"This is _New _Azarath, Beast Boy," Raphael replied. "I'm afraid things aren't as good as it once was. Ever since Trigon's attack, the government officials have been pretty sketchy. People blaming other people for Trigon's rise. You and your mother's names have come up more than once. Clergywoman Sorenda then steadily rose in power. She supported very liberal ideas, especially in the past few weeks, and being the clever woman she is, she managed to persuaded a lot of others to join her cause. That's why Raven"—he turned to Beast Boy with a half-worried look—"has to speak to them. You have to say something that will break apart the Renewers. Merge them together with the Returners and have the two political parties become one again."

All eyes were on Beast Boy. He gulped. He was supposed to make a speech to a bunch of adults? About a life-threatening, world-changing subject? Him? "You've got to be kidding me," he thought to himself.

"Do they have any rooms for us?" Raven asked, trying to divert attention away from the boy in her body.

"Yeah. Just go to the secretary and she'll get you some rooms. I'm sure as soon as she sees Raven, she'll give you guys the best in the house."

"Sweet!" Cyborg cheered. "Azarathean lodging! I bet they got all those floating beds and stuff you see on TV."

"Make yourselves at home," Raphael smiled. "The meeting will be tomorrow so we have time. I'll go and talk to Captain Etzel about… something." He winked to Raven. She smiled, noticing he still kept the same boyish wink from years ago. "I'll see you guys later," he called back as he began walking away.

The Titans waved him goodbye and walked to the nearest secretary. Beast Boy caught up to Raven and whispered in her ear, "Rave! How am I supposed to make a speech? They'll figure out I'm not you as soon as I walk in the room."

"Relax," she hissed back. "We'll figure out something. Raphael says the meeting starts tomorrow. Maybe he and Etzel will figure out a potion that will switch us back in time."

"And what if they don't?" he shot back. "This isn't some graduation speech or meeting my girlfriend's parents kind of speech. This is a life-threatening speech! If I say anything the tiniest thing wrong, every world will be taken over by them!"

"Beast Boy, we'll figure out something—"

"But what if we don't?"

"We will!"

"Oh! Lady Raven!" the secretary announced as the Titans approached her desk. "Oh it is you!"

"Uh… Hello," Beast Boy said sheepishly.

"I—I suppose you've heard about Clergywoman Sorenda. It's simply horrible, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I know. Her 'Interuniversal Cleaning'-thing or whatever. It's horrible. Glad you agree!"

The woman's face stiffened up. "Oh… I guess you haven't heard," she said with a grim tone. Lowering her voice, she whispered to the team, "The clergywoman, she was _assassinated_."

Raven's eyes widened in horror. "She was what?"

"Assassinated. By an Earthly weapon I heard. The Council is completely infuriated. By now, the Interuniversal Cleansing Act will be passed almost inevitably!"

…

The beds were more like resting chambers than beds. That was the first thing Beast Boy remembered as he looked around his room, which he shared once again with Starfire. _Resting chambers_. Raven had told them of those kinds of things about Azarath in passing, that the beds projected a controlled force field that automatically levitated you as you laid down and simulated the feeling of solidity beneath you so that you _felt_ you were, indeed, lying down on a bed. A holographic curtain will appear around the bed when it is used and disappears when it is not. The actual machine—the contraption that projected the force field—seemed to resemble a bed in itself, though it seemed far too metallic to be comfortable.

He glanced elsewhere. A large grandfather clock stood on the corner, and thankfully—though its design was much different—worked the same way as on Earth. Beast Boy didn't look inside the restroom, for fear of not knowing how to properly use a toilet. "Do they even have toilets here?" he wondered. "Of course they do. Even Azaratheans had to do their business sometimes."

He wandered towards the window where his Tamaranian friend was standing. "It is beautiful, is it not?" she observed.

"I know," he replied. "It's just like I remembered it. Home, sweet home."

"Please do not ever say that again, Beast Boy," Starfire said. "It is nauseating for me whenever I see you pretending to be Raven."

"You—what—whoa, wait Starfire. What are you talking about?"

"I know, Beast Boy," she answered with a smile. "Raven had just told me a little while ago."

"Oh good," he gave out a sigh of relief. "Phew! Now I can act like myself around you. Man, if only Cyborg and Robin knew, too."

"Yes, I dearly wish we could tell them the truth. But Raven is very much against it, so it is best we follow her will."

"Yeah, you're right." Beast Boy let out a sigh of exhaustion as he tried to figure out how to activate the bed. Upon successfully turning it on, he hopped onto it and was pleased to find himself automatically levitating several feet from the ground. It felt strangely comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud.

"But that means I'll have to be the one to give the speech to the Council."

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed, activating her own bed. "How are you going to do that?"

"I don't even know, Star. I mean I can barely write a high school essay. How'm I supposed to do this?"

"Perhaps you could tell them the truth and have Raven speak for herself?"

"No, that'll never work. Raven had an idea while we were going up to our rooms. She said that Raphael and his captain guy will try their best to come up with some kind of potion that'll switch us back before tomorrow. If we're not lucky and it doesn't work, then tomorrow at the meeting, I'll have to form a telepathic connection to Raven. That way, she can telepathically tell me exactly what to say. As long as I concentrate enough, then we should be able to pull it off."

Starfire rested her head on her hands. "I am fearful for our world, Beast Boy," she said. "Ours and mine as well. Even if Raven's plan works and even if you manage to fool the council, it is still possible that they will refuse to be dissuaded. All worlds might be in grave danger. And now it is even worse so for our cause because of that clergywoman's assassination."

"Right. Her," he grumbled. "How did that happen? They say it was a gun that killed her. That could only mean someone from Earth had done it."

"I was thinking that as well. Perhaps it was Rift?"

"Maybe. He's got his eye on us for some reason. Maybe it was Slade?"

"It is possible. But I do not think Slade would have the means to readily transport himself to here. It seems unreasonable."

"You're right. So it must be Rift, then. But why?"

"Who knows? Everything he's been doing lately… what could it mean?"

"Stealing Unobtainium from Wayne Industries makes him seem like a common criminal. Just another villain with some superpowers. Then he brainwashed Titans East and made them attack us. That already makes him different. Almost Slade-like, even. Now he's somehow come to Azarath and assassinated a random woman?"

"It is all very strange," Starfire nodded. "But why? Unobtanium… mind-controlling the Titans East… assassinating a woman from a completely different world… None of it makes any sense!"

"But why her? Why Sorenda?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in deep thought.

"Raphael had said that Clergywoman Sorenda was the leader of the Renewers and the person who had come up with the Interuniversal Cleansing Act. Perhaps he was trying to stop her?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "I don't think it's that simple. Especially since Rift can control minds. Something tells me he was behind it from the start."

"You mean he was controlling her and used her to persuade the council to use the Weapons?"

"I think so. And it'd make sense. He no longer needs her so now he kills her. And by killing her with a gun, then that would only make the council want to pass the act even more, right?"

…

The next morning, Raven led Raphael and Etzel—who was carrying a small suitcase—to the room Beast Boy and Starfire had been sleeping in. She knocked three times on the door, which promptly opened to reveal a Tamaranian girl. "Greetings, friends," she smiled as she let them inside.

"Beast Boy!" Raven cried. She watched as her own body—levitating on the bed—jumped down and landed squarely on its feet.

"Yup!" Beast Boy cried. "Alright. What's the plan?"

"My, my you've grown, Raven," Etzel grinned. Placing his suitcase on a nearby table, he proceeded to open it and take out four flasks of multicolored liquids and two cups. "These were the ones I've managed to create way back when," he said. "These three are old, untested recipes and this one is a new one I just made last night. Try them one at a time."

"Fingers crossed," Raphael mumbled as his captain poured out a light orange liquid onto the two cups and passed them to Raven and Beast Boy. The two glanced at each other and smelled the liquid suspiciously.

"Ready when you are," Raven said.

"On three," Beast Boy replied. "One… two… three!" They gulped down the potion with amazing speed.

Everyone gazed at the two, half-expecting something to happen. Nothing came.

"Alright, let's try sample B," Etzel said as he poured them a dark green substance. Raven and Beast Boy looked at each other again and drank the liquid.

Nothing happened.

"Sample C." He poured them a violet colored drink.

Still again, nothing happened.

"Alright, last chance. The new one I just made." He poured them a dark red potion. Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other. The former raised his cup. "Cheers," he said.

"Cheers," Raven replied as their glasses clinked together. They drank it heartily.

In the end, nothing happened.

"Great," Beast Boy sighed. "What do we do now?"

"We'll just have to go with Plan B," the sorceress said. "You'll have to form a psychic connection to me."

"Can you do that?" Raphael wondered aloud. "Creating a sustained telepathic link to someone is extremely hard."

"He has my powers, so he is able to," Raven explained. "The problem is he doesn't have the training to. But we did practice a little before and he was getting it. Do you think you can do it, Beast Boy?"

"I—I'm not sure."

"Well, be sure," Etzel replied. "Because you have to. This has to work or else the council will release the Weapons. And because Sorenda was killed with an Earth weapon, what world do you think Azarath would come to first?"

Beast Boy gulped. "When's the meeting?" he stammered.

"Ten minutes."

"Oh great."

"Actually," Raven interrupted. "We should go now."

"What? Why?" Starfire asked. "Should we not spend the time we have left training Beast Boy to communicate with you?"

The sorceress shook her head. "Here in Azarath, showing up early is a sign of nobility. If we come early, that just might help our case, no matter how small help it may be. And besides, we can practice in there while we're waiting for the meeting to start."

"She's right," Raphael nodded. "Follow me. I'll lead you there."

The five then left the room and headed towards the main lobby where they were joined by Robin and Cyborg. "You got this, Rae?" the robotic man asked. Beast Boy reluctantly nodded. Raphael then led the team up many flights of stairs, barely giving them sufficient time to gaze and adore the beautiful Azarathean architecture.

They soon came to a small, round room on the tenth floor that was relatively empty except for a grandiose grandfather clock and a transport sphere, one much larger and more intricate than the one in the city. Raphael approached the device and activated, sliding the golden rings and panels here and there as the Titans gazed in wonder upon seeing the sphere change color with every movement. As the sphere glowed a glorious red and gold color, Raphael placed his right hand on the sphere and instructed the others to do the same.

"Wait!" Raven suddenly cried.

"What?" he jumped. Hurriedly, he added, "What, Beast Boy?"

Raven began signaling at the sphere with her eyes while saying through gritted teeth, "Are you _absolutely sure_ that this is the best place to have a meeting? It looks like a pretty _weird color_ and I've always been taught not to trust _weird colors_."

Raphael's eyes widened in understanding as he quietly cursed under his breath. "I'll have to talk to the councilmen," he said to the Titans. "We'll have to move our meeting to a different room."

"What? Why?" Robin asked.

"You see, this sphere is set to the Hall of Assemblage, where our meetings are normally held. However, the Hall is one of the few hidden rooms in the Azarathean Palace that is gated. It's basically a defense mechanism built into the palace to prevent intruders from reaching certain rooms. Officers and government officials like Raven, Captain Etzel, and I have a mark on our souls, a mark that acts basically as a key to "unlock" the gates. You guys don't so you won't be allowed in."

"If that's the only problem, I guess we could stay out of it," Cyborg shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'd rather not go to a boring meeting anyway."

"It's a defense mechanism to keep out intruders," Raphael repeated, making a quick glance towards Beast Boy. "For instance, if anyone were to disguise themselves as an official or switch bodies with them, they wouldn't be allowed in because their soul doesn't contain the mark." Beast Boy quietly nodded and said to the others, "I think I'd rather be there with you guys. I'd feel more comfortable if all five of us are there together." He glanced at Raven.

"Then it's settled," Raphael said. "I'll go in and inform the councilmen. I'm sure they'll willingly switch locations. You guys wait here." With a friendly salute, he activated the sphere and disappeared in a wave of light.

"J—just out of curiosity," Robin turned to Captain Etzel and asked. "What _does_ happen if someone without a mark try to go into a gated room."

The man winced and rubbed his beard. "I—It's not pretty," he said. "If a regular person like you or Starfire or Cyborg were to accidentally use it, then it would magically—how do I say this?—_torture_ you… mentally. Spiritually, rather."

"Torture?" Starfire gasped.

"Jeez," Cyborg grimaced.

"It's not much. Just enough to subdue you," he explained. "But if it senses a magical presence… perhaps if a magical spell being used during the transportation… its effects are much more—lethal."

"Lethal?" Beast Boy said.

"Very slow and painful," Etzel continued. "But effective. If one is exposed to that kind of mental and spiritual strain for long enough… it'll be an inevitable death."

Both Beast Boy and Raven shared a glance.

Beast Boy gazed at the sphere in horror.

He could almost imagine himself screaming in pain inside that thing.

…

The meeting began at 11:00 in the Round Room, another meeting room that was used less frequently and more casually. Not a single person was late or absent. A certain Clergywoman Lucretia replaced Sorenda as the new de facto leader of the Renewers and spoke her case expertly, explaining how they simply cannot wait a moment longer, for a moment longer meant a moment of more violence and chaos everywhere else.

Before he knew it, it became Beast Boy's turn to speak. He gulped and glanced at his friends, specifically Raven, as he stood up. "Alright, BB," he thought to himself. "Focus! Focus. Focus on Raven. Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Crap, it's not working! Okay, focus. Concentrate. Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Raven?—no!"

"_Maybe you should call me Beast Man from now on!"_

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

"_Evil beware, we have waffles…"_

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

"_For luck," he winked as he slipped her a penny that shone within the darkness._

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" He felt a subtle but powerful force enter his mind as he heard a faint voice.

"Beast Boy?" it called.

"Raven. Rae!" he thought back. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah… barely. I think it's working. Okay, repeat after me: 'Friends, Azaratheans, and lovers. I humbly ask you to lend me your ears, that you may hear.'"

"Friends, Azaratheans, and lovers," he repeated after her. "I humbly ask you to lend me your ears, that you may hear."

"I come here not to speak to you, but to mourn—mourn not only the loss of our beloved clergywoman but also the loss of millions more." He repeated her words. "For should the Interplanetary Cleansing Act be passed, I fear not for myself but for my world, both worlds, all worlds." He repeated, but noticed her voice was getting fainter and fainter.

"No, don't lose it!" he thought to himself. "Concentrate, Gar."

"_A giant chicken. I must be the luckiest girl in the world."_

"…made from and for peace, not destruction." Beast Boy's eyes widened and glanced at Raven, who seemed to also sense the temporary disconnect.

"Uh—our wonderful world, Azarath was made from and for peace, not destruction," he tried. Raven nodded in approval.

"If we were to suddenly change all this, what would that make of us?" he heard in his mind. "Hypocrites? Criminals? Disloyal followers of Azar?"

"If we suddenly change all this, what would that make us?" Beast Boy repeated, noticing his voice was quivering in fear and trying his best to calm himself down. "Hypocrites? Criminals? Unloyal followers of Ezar—erm, Azar!"

He saw Raven wince ever so slightly before shaking it off. He saw her concentrate on him but he heard no voice. "No, don't lose it, Beast Boy!" he shouted mentally. "No! No!"

It was useless. He couldn't sustain the connection any longer. He saw Raven sigh in desperation. His eyes glanced around, jumping from person to person. Some were muttering to themselves, wondering why he had stopped speaking. "What do I do?" he asked himself. "What do I do now?"

"_Peace, calm, and tranquility, Beast Boy."_

That's right. Peace, calm, and tranquility. He cleared his mind and calmed himself down. Looks like he'll have to do this on his own. Taking one last glance at Raven, he spoke once again to the council members.

"On—On Earth we have a phrase: 'I'm only human.' It means that no one is perfect and we can't claim to be. We all make mistakes. There's always going to evil and bad people. But we're only human. I know that doesn't justify our actions. I know it doesn't mean we should be free to do whatever we want because we're inevitable to screw up anyway. But you can't enforce your rules like this. We can't go and punish everyone for the actions of a few. Look at yourselves. Every single person here is human. You might have magical powers, sure. But you're all human. _We're_ all human.

"I came on Earth expecting to be an outcast because of who I was. But everything changed. I found myself being accepted by people who truly love me for who I was. That's what being human means. That's the power of humanity. It's called love. And I know now that love always triumphs over hate. You may hate evil and you may do whatever you can't to wipe it out, but everyone else will protect themselves. Even if faced against the Weapons, all the other worlds will do whatever it takes to protect themselves. And why? Because of love—love for their world, their family, their friends. Love for themselves. If you were to create a war like this, would that truly be peace?

"Trigon rose two years ago because of hate. He thrived on hatred—flourished because of it. And I?—I believe in the power of love. It was through love that I've grown up into the woman I am today. And it's through love that I speak to you now."

He looked around the room again and saw some members murmuring pleasingly. The Titans, he saw were beaming. He even saw a tiny smile emerge from Raven's lips. "That was good," Beast Boy thought to himself. "Now for the real kicker."

Slowly, he got down onto his knees, an act that did not go unnoticed by any of the people present. He bowed his head. "Please," he said. "I beg of you, not as your Lady, not as a Titan, but as your humble servant. You cannot do this to my world—our world. It is through love that I bow to you now. I beg of you, people of New Azarath." He looked up to see Raven's stunned face.

…

"You did it Rae!" Cyborg bellowed as he slapped Beast Boy's back. "I mean of course you did! I always knew you had it in ya."

"That was a great speech, Raven!" Robin congratulated. "I would be surprised if a single person voted for the act now!"

"Amazing. Simply amazing!" Etzel smiled as he winked at Beast Boy.

"Great job!" Raphael clapped. He placed his index and middle fingers on his forehead and gave Beast Boy a small salute. "You did great!"

"Glorious!" Starfire cheered. "Absolutely glorious, Beast Boy!"

The party stopped dead in their tracks. "Beast Boy?" Robin inquired. "What are you talking about, Starfire?"

"Uh guys…?" Cyborg said, noticing the strange looks on their friends' faces. "What's with the weird looks?"

Raphael glanced at Raven who gave a defeated look and nodded. "Uh, let's take this outside, guys," he said. "We might have some explaining to do." He motioned Starfire and Etzel to escort the two confused Titans out of the room, leaving behind the two switched teammates.

"So—uh, ahem. Raven," Beast Boy stammered, feelings his cheeks redden. "How'd I do?—I mean… Did I do good, or—" He glanced up at her cheekily.

She replied with a snarky glare. "Hey! You did alright, okay? Just alright!" she hissed. A friendly grin betrayed her feigned response as she suddenly burst into a smile as she slapped him on the back. "Good job, there Beast Boy!" she applauded.

"Whoa, Rae!" he protested, backing away. "You okay? You're acting all weird."

Raven seemed a bit surprised herself, but shrugged it off, "It's probably the Azarathean air. It makes me feel at home again." It's probably also an effect of being switched with Beast Boy, she noticed.

Beast Boy cocked his head to one side. Perhaps she was right—it was the Azarathean air. Glancing at his reflection on a nearby mirror, he noticed Raven's skin was now full of color and was a light, almost creamy color—much different than the grayness it was on Earth.

"So what," he said with a sly smile. "Do we hug now?"

"As if!" she stuck her tongue out. She nearly jumped back in disgust at having done so. "I swear, Beast Boy! The more I'm in your body, the more I start acting like you."

"Is that such a bad thing?" he returned, sticking his own tongue out. "After all, I am a pretty great guy. After all, who just made a fantastic speech all by himself and has two thumbs? This guy!"

"You just did alright, okay? Don't get any ideas in your head!"

Beast Boy smirked and raised a fist. He motioned his eyes towards it and with a sigh, Raven raised her own fist and bumped their hands together. She turned around to leave. "See you later, Grass Stain!" she murmured.

Beast Boy tried to hide a smile as he turned away from her and softly touched the part of his hand that touched her. Something deep inside him felt very warm.

Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around him. Looking down, he saw that they were his arms—his green arms. It was Raven, hugging him. Raven—_hugging_ him.

"You did a good job today, Gar," she whispered into his ears.

"Th—thanks, Rae," he whispered back, unable to contain his smile. "Thank you."

The warm feeling inside him never left, even after Raven had said goodbye and left. He crashed onto the bed with the same warm feeling—the same smile that refused to leave.

…

A tiny gray island floated in space—a chunk of grassy land on a titanic rock that levitated in an empty dimension. Smoke riffled around the blackness of the void-like dimension. On the island stood several trees with animal carcasses hanging off them surrounding a small, rundown restaurant. Chickens and black cats roamed around the island; one chicken made its way to the very edge, taking a step off the island and disappearing in smoke and ash.

A tall, bulky man in an old chef's outfit stood before a table covered in bottles and glasses of assorted colored wines. The man gazed into a large bowl of pale yellow wine with his small eyes. The wine rippled and revealed the image of Beast Boy and Raven hugging. The man's eyes betrayed a look of sadness and sorrow.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. A cloud of smoke wrapped itself around the man as his clothes peeled off and his body shrunk. His large, rough hands became smooth and slender and his face became soft and small. His scar disappeared, instead replaced with a red and black gemstone on the ajna chakra on his forehead. His short black hair grew to his shoulders and became a dark indigo. Two golden hoop earrings appeared on his ears and a white cloak wrapped itself around his body.

The man stared at his reflection in the bowl of yellow wine.

"I'm sorry," Arella whispered again, much more painfully as a single tear emerged from her left eye. "But this was the only thing I could do to save my daughter."

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Proceed with the shocked gasps.**

**Yes, you have read that correctly. The cook is none other than Arella.**

**But why?**

**Read over her conversation with Raven and Beast Boy way back in Chapter 3 and you'll find some hints placed in there.**

**And for those of you who believe the Interplanetary Cleansing Act was the "danger" that she wanted to save Raven from...**

**You would be very much wrong.**

**So REVIEW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW? I'll promise to upload the next chapter as fast as I can!**


	8. Return

**Feelings begin to explode between them now. I wonder what kind of hidden feelings are revealed today? Read on to find out!**

**By the way, I've had some people think that the reason Arella had switched Raven and Beast Boy was to "set them up" with each other. Not that I don't appreciate you guys making guesses (love it, actually), but I feel compelled to tell you that that guess is completely wrong. Not trying to bash you guys haha but I just wanted you to know that Arella feeling sorry for her daughter and not wanting her to be lonely is definitely NOT the reason for the switch. That has to be understood in order for the rest of the story to make better sense.**

**Bluedog197 - Ahh what a twist! And no, she sadly wasn't playing matchmaker. There's a darker reason behind her actions.**

**gabylokita41 - Good eye! I felt the biggest clue (which was also somewhat hard to pick up) was when I purposefully had Raven say "Nice to _meet_ you" while the cook said "Nice to _see_ you." Meet =/= See, so I was wondering who'd be able to catch that.**

**Wolvmbm - Nope, sorry. That unfortunately was not the reason for the switch. You'll find out the reason soon enough. Just keep on reading! :)**

**Renton-torston - I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. But I'll take that as a compliment :)**

**Guest - Hopefully this was quick enough for you!**

**titanfan45 - Thanks! Now the remaining question is why?**

**shugokage - Many thanks to you too. Hopefully this chapter will please!**

**big red - Thanks a lot my much appreciated reader.**

**Kaarlinaa - Awh, why'd you skip? Don't worry, it'll start getting more and more interesting, promise!**

**BartWLewis - That Arella! Wonder why she did what she did... hmm...**

* * *

**Chapter VIII - Return**

"No, it's not working," Beast Boy said as he spit out the brown liquid back into the cup. "Sorry, Mister Etzel," he said sheepishly as he returned the cup to its owner. "But it's just not working."

The man sighed. "It's fine. I just can't figure out why these aren't working. This is the fourteenth formula already!"

"Take your time, Etzel," Raven sighed. "The meeting was already over so there's no more rush."

"You know," the captain said as he packed up his things. "Ever since your little speech yesterday, the councilmen having been talking about it all day. Especially because of the bow at the end. Really great stuff, Beast Boy."

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Now there's another meeting today, too, isn't there? About the future of the political parties?"

"We already got that covered," Beast Boy explained. "Raven spent most of yesterday writing a speech to get the councilmen to dissolve their parties and become one like it was before. All I have to do is bring the paper with me and read it there. Because this meeting isn't as important as yesterday's our case won't be hurt if I read the speech."

"Perfect. Well then, I'll see you two later?"

"Later!" the changeling replied.

"Goodbye!" the sorceress followed.

As the door shut, Beast Boy sighed and said, "Well what now?"

She shrugged in reply. "I guess we just hang out a while until the meeting starts." Standing up, she made her way to the door before it opened, allowing Cyborg to walk in.

"Sup, B—ahh!..." he stammered as he stood mute before Raven. "I—urgh, um… I mean—R—Raven…"

The girl in the green boy's body chuckled as she patted her friend's back. "You'll get used to it, Cy," she said casually as she walked out the room. On her way out, she came face to face with Robin, who looked just as shaken up and awkward as Cyborg was.

"Whoa—um… Hiya, Raven…" he bumbled. "So you—uh, you're in—"

"Yes, Boy Wonder. I am in Beast Boy's body," she said monotonously. "To be honest, I'm kind of surprised we managed to trick you for so long. You, trained by the Dark Knight, himself. Batman would be disappointed."

"Shut up," he grumbled as Raven started walking past him. "Well, it's only been like a week since you guys switched. That's not much time for me to pick up on things. Especially since you two were avoiding us like the plague. By the way, you're acting kinda weird. I mean not that I'm trying to insult you, but—"

"I get it," Raven interrupted. "I'm thinking it's a side effect of body-switching. As much as I'd like to gag when I say this, I'm afraid I'm acting more and more like Beast Boy. So if I start cracking jokes, I'm depending on you to slap me back to normal, okay?"

"Haha, sure," he laughed. Robin began walking into the room before stopping still as if a bucket of ice had been dumped down his shirt. "W—wait a second…" he said slowly. "If—if you and Beast Boy switched bodies… then back at Andern Falls, while we were in the public bath…" His mask doubled in size.

"Oh crap…" Raven whispered as she suppressed her gag reflex.

"OH MY GOD!" Robin screamed. "YOU SAW MY—"

…

"Here's what we found, Raphael," Cyborg said as he handed the young lieutenant a folder. He opened it and saw a few papers, documents, and photos. "After you gave us access to the Azarathean Records Library, this was all we could find. Unfortunately, it doesn't help much."

Robin added, "We've translated as much Azarathean texts as we could with the translation codex and the dic—" he winced at the first syllable of the word, "—dictionary."

"Thanks anyway," Raphael replied. "Although with Sorenda dead, I'm not sure there is much we can do."

"What was the reason behind our investigation, Friend Raphael?" Starfire asked.

"Well it was Captain Etzel's idea to begin with. Ever since the formation of the Renewers, he's been really suspicious about Sorenda. He suspected corruption. That kind of thing was long gone in Azarath so he really couldn't tell anybody else about his idea—except me, of course. The thing that made me really convinced that there was something shady was when she had mentioned a Three-Fourths Vote rule that would override the say of Her Holiness Azar. I admit I failed Government class when I was a kid but I know that nothing can override or take the place of Azar. So there has to be some kind of corruption, but I don't know how so many people can be corrupt."

"Maybe they're not," Cyborg wondered aloud. "What if they were forced—controlled—to do whatever it is they've been doing."

"That's easier said than done. These are the most capable sorcerers and sorceresses in New Azarath. I doubt they could be mind-controlled very easily."

The Titans looked at each other. "We're not so sure," Robin spoke. "We've been getting into some pretty nasty situations with a certain someone recently. His name is Rift. We don't know exactly what he wants but it always seems to involve us."

"You think this Rift character is behind this, too?" Raphael inquired.

"Not sure. But I wouldn't be surprised. You said Sorenda was killed with a gun, right? A weapon from Earth?"

Raphael nodded. "It matches," Cyborg noted. "He's also capable of teleportation and mind-control. Fairly strong, too, from what we've seen."

"He has managed to completely control the actions of five of our friends," Starfire added. "Controlling five superheroes at once is not an easy feat, especially since part of their training is to fight against subconscious manipulation."

"It's a perfect fit," Robin finished.

"The only question is, why?" Raphael rubbed his chin.

"That's what we've been asking for a while now," Cyborg said. "First he stole Unobtainium. Then he brainwashed the Titans East. Now he's assassinated an Azarathean official and manipulated its government to launch a universe-wide takeover?"

"It sounds like he wants to take over the universe. That wouldn't be the first time we met someone like that," Robin said.

"No, that seems far too simple a goal for a clever man like Rift to want," Starfire argued. "And the Unobtainium does not make sense in that situation."

"And why would he have controlled your friends if his target was New Azarath?" Raphael piped in.

"He ordered them to fight us," Cyborg tried. "Maybe he was trying to stop us from going to Azarath?"

"He wouldn't have any way of knowing we were going there in the first place," Robin pointed out. "If he wanted us to stay on Earth he could've just attacked Raphael, instead."

"And thank Azar he didn't," Raphael half-wittingly joked. As he stuffed the folder into his cloak, he rose and said to them, "Well I guess that's that. We're at a stand-still until anything else happens. Now all that's left is for Raven—er, I mean Beast Boy—to give a speech about the future of the two political parties. If all goes well, the Renewers and Returners will merge and become one complete Azarathean Council once again."

"Oh!" Starfire suddenly jumped as if she had remembered something. "We cannot stay here!" she cried.

"What?" Robin immediately said. "What's the matter, Star?"

"The Crowe's!" she shouted. "We were supposed to protect them. We have been gone for three days. They might be in danger!"

"Crap," Cyborg grunted. "We can't get one quiet day anymore."

"If you need to go back to Earth, I'd be more than happy to transport you," Raphael offered.

"Please," Robin nodded. "Tell Raven and Beast Boy we went back to take care of the Crowe couple. They'll know what we mean."

Raphael muttered some incantations and with some difficulty constructed a portal for them. "That should lead you back to your tower," he said. Saluting them with a warm smile as the three disappeared into the portal, he said, "Thank you for all your help and support, Titans!"

…

Raven held back a smile as she watched the boy in her body stand in front of the Councilmen and give the speech she wrote. In a way, she was proud of him. Ever so slightly. Of course, a six-year-old could have pretended to be her and read from a paper. But this was different. This was the boy she thought would never amount to anything. And now he was speaking to the New Azarath Council as one of the most respected women in the world? Even if he was in her body, this was a sight to see.

"What could can come of division?" she heard her own voice say from the boy inside her body. "We have created this whole new world to escape the very thing we are creating right now! Division, chaos, turmoil. We have cast all that aside when we created Azarath. And look at where it has brought us!—We have become one of the most advanced worlds in existence. What of these Returners and Renewers? I am neither of these. Rather, I am a Reuniter. A Rejoiner. I ask of you now to join my cause and return our government back into one united council so we can renew the causes we have sought when this world was still young! The only way we can move forward is if both our feet work together. How can we move at all if the left foot goes one way and the right goes the other?"

"_How am I doing?"_ Raven heard from the back of her head.

"_Good," _she thought as she slowly nodded her head. _"Keep it up."_

"_This is kinda easy. I could get used to this."_

"_Don't get cocky, Green Bean."_

As Beast Boy finished Raven's speech, he gave a courteous and respectful bow to the councilmen before resuming his seat next to Raphael and Etzel. "Good job, Beast Boy," the former whispered. "I'll bet no one suspects a thing."

"Let's hope so," came the hushed reply. The meeting proceeded for about another hour before it was adjourned. Raven listened around and, from the excited whispers she heard passed about in the crowd, observed that her speech had done its job.

A smile came before her face until she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Quickly she turned her head before feeling a finger being pushed against her cheek. She knocked the hand off and snapped, "Wow, this guy! Raphael, the youngest lieutenant of New Azarath and he still acts like the fifteen-year-old boy he was four years ago."

"Haha, I can't help but reminisce," he giggled. His face lightened as he said in a hushed tone, "Hey, I was wondering… If you're not busy, you want to go for a spin around New Azarath? Maybe we could catch up?"

The sorceress's green eyes lit up at the thought. It certainly had been a while since she'd been to Azarath. She turned around and saw Beast Boy making his way from the crowd of Councilmen. "I suppose I could send Beast Boy to the others," she said.

"Umm, a little problem—the Titans went back home. I sent them back because they said they needed to protect the "Crowe's" or something. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Oh yeah… Oh crap, what'm I going to do with him?" Raven rolled her eyes. "As hard as it may be to believe, Beast Boy needs a babysitter. Especially since the entire world thinks he's one of the most powerful sorceresses in the government."

"We could have him stick around the Palace for the time being. Captain Etzel would be more than happy to take care of him," Raphael proposed. "I mean… I'd invite him to come with us but he'd probably be a third wheel."

"No, I'd think it's more like he's a little kid at a video game and candy store and we're his parents."

"Ooh," the man said with a coy smile. "So we're a couple in your little fantasy?" He was met with a light punch on the shoulder and a half teasing-half lethal glare.

"Beast Boy!" she cried to the boy, who came bumbling over.

"Sup, Rae! I did good, didn't I?" he declared cheerfully.

"Yeah you sure were a real slugger," Raven said as if talking to a little child. "Listen, can you stick around here with Etzel for a while? Raphael and I need to go around Azarath for a bit so I can catch up and some new things."

"Sure thing. Where's Cy?"

"…He's not here. Cyborg and the others went back to Earth to see if anything's wrong with Malcolm and Anna Crowe."

The changeling's gray ears drooped. "You mean I'm by myself?"

"You'll have Captain Etzel!" Raphael interjected. "I've known him for years. He's one of my closest friends."

"We'll be back in a few hours, Beast Boy. By sunset at the latest," Raven reassured him.

Beast Boy glared at him with an almost resentful look before muttering a "Fine," and going to find the captain.

"What'd I say?" the sorceress remarked. "Just like a little kid."

"Come on, let's go already!" the lieutenant cheered as he wrapped his arm around her neck.

Beast Boy looked back at the pair in an almost jealous way. "So I heard you're coming with me?" he suddenly heard.

Spinning around to come face to face with Etzel, he said meekly, "Uh… I guess. So… what're we gonna do?"

He shrugged in return. "I'm not sure what people on Earth like to do for fun but I'm pretty sure it's not the same as here. Magic dueling?" Beast Boy shook his head. "Play Firecatchers?" Again, the boy shook his head. "You gamble any?" Another 'No' from the boy made him let out a sigh of frustration. "Hm… I guess since there's not much else for us to do—and I doubt you'd like to help me create some more potions—how about I teach you how to magic duel?"

"M—me?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun. I'll round up some of my old students—some of Raphael and Raven's friends. I'll explain to 'em about this whole body-switching thing and they'll teach you how to magic duel. But I gotta warn ya, you got some big shoes to fill if you're in Raven's body."

"Sure then," Beast Boy hesitantly agreed.

"Then it's settled!" The captain motioned him forward before suddenly stopping. "Oh, before we meet them though, I think it's best not to tell them Raven and Raphael are off together."

"Huh? Why?" he asked confusingly.

The man put up a playful face. "You know they used to date, right?" The changeling nodded. "Well, they were _really_ close. They've practically been dating since the moment they've met, which was years before Raven ended it to go to Earth. I'm sure there's still feelings there and Raven's always been kind of adored by the guys in the magic dueling team. Especially since she was the only girl and could easily dominate any of them. It just kind of spares their feelings, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," he said. "Hey… If you don't mind me asking, what kind of guy is Raphael like?"

"Ol' Raph?" he chuckled. "Not much to say, really. He's a simple ol' boy, true to his farmer roots. Strong, loyal, respectful, independent. What better match for him than the young, beautiful royalty that was Raven? For her, it was that one poor farmer that eventually managed to woo her. For him, it was his far-away princess that finally came into his life. For me, it was a case of Romeo-and-Juliet-itis. He ran away from his parents to be with her and his parents died in an accident a little while later. After that, I sort of took him under my wing.

"I didn't know exactly why I became sort of his surrogate father. I think it was mostly due to his mother. You see, Beast Boy, I used to live in a temple. Born and raised as a monk boy and brought up to be a monk all my life. Then I met Raphael's mother and boy!—she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I spent much of my life adoring her and when she went to live the cities near the Capital, I decided to leave my temple and chase after her. We lived as friends for a while and I knew and she knew there was a spark. But in the end, she married someone else and went to live with him on the farms while I stayed in the city and studied potions, eventually becoming the man I am today. After I learned Raphael was her son, how could I keep myself from him?"

They kept on walking, meeting some of Raven's old classmates and fellow magic duelers. At one point, Etzel pulled out an old photograph, saying that it was in that photo that he knew Raven and Raphael were meant for each other.

As the picture was handed to him, the changeling gazed at the pale white face under a blue hood that stared back at him. It was almost hypnotic, her smile and her gaze was as she sat next to a younger Raphael under a tree. He couldn't help but smile as he gently rubbed his thumb on Raven's face in the picture. He had forgotten what Raven had looked like four years ago. And yet, something about her seemed different. Her skin in here was not much gray, but was more white, and her eyes seemed to sparkle more. But her most impressive feature was that small, gentle smile on her lips. It was a genuine smile, one Beast Boy had almost never seen on Earth before. "She'd almost never smile and was so serious," he heard one of Raven's friends say as they examined the photograph. "Unless she was with Raphael. If she's with him, she'd feel like the happiest person in the world."

"Did—" Beast Boy felt himself say. "Did she love him? I wonder… was she in love back then? Is she in love now…?" For some reason, those words burned on his lips as he uttered them.

…

The Crowe residence was rather luxurious for a newly-wedded couple. It was located in the richer and more isolated side of Jump City and had a scenery that seemed straight out of a Jane Austen novel—a large modern style mansion set in patch of grassy plains, surrounded by a thick forest that crisply rustled its leaves in the autumn air that was slowly approaching winter. The mansion—Batman had informed his former sidekick—was recently bought by Malcolm Crowe shortly after his wedding. As three of the Teen Titans approached the house, they supposed they would have awed at the scenery had one wall of the house—composed completely of crystal clear glass—not been crushed, demolished, and shattered.

They entered the house through the shattered wall uneasily. "H—Hello?" Starfire called as they noticed the signs of struggle inside the house. "Is anybody here?"

All was silent. All was still.

The Tamaranian slowly relaxed her arms. Then knocked aside by a black mammoth of a gorilla. Cyborg instinctively readied his sonic cannon and fired at the being, who was thrown against the wall. Monsieur Mallah quickly recuperated and, wielding his twin pistols, began firing at the two male Titans with deadly precision.

Robin deftly dodged the barrage of bullets as he counterattacked with his own bird-a-rangs which flew through the air and lodged themselves neatly onto the massive gorilla's shoulders. The Boy Wonder unleashed his bo staff, waving it expertly into position before it was knocked out of his arms by a small arrow. He swiftly spun around and came face to face with Speedy. "Grr… again?" the former grunted before he somersaulted backwards in order to evade a bombardment of arrows from the possessed Titan.

Mallah picked the bird-a-rangs from his shoulders as if they were toothpicks and reached for a bigger gun in his disposal, but was promptly thrust aside by a starbolt from the Tamaranian girl, who then proceeded to fire several successful starbolts at Bumblebee, who had been making her way into the room. Cyborg prepared to fire another sonic blast at Speedy but was taken down by the rapid movements of Más y Menos.

"The Crowe's!" he heard Starfire shout. "Where are they?"

"I dunno but it's not looking too good!" he cried back as he roughly grabbed the twins' necks and tossed them aside, being careful not to injure them too much. "Robin! Find them stat!"

As successive jabs to the stomach and a swift uppercut knocked Speedy out, Robin nodded and ran straight towards General Immortus, who he caught in the corner of his eye. The aged general attempted to run away but was easily caught by Robin, who held him gruffly with his fists.

"Where are the Crowe's?" he spat. The general giggled menacingly in return, inciting Robin to deal him a painful punch in the face. "Where are they?!" he roared. "Where is she?!"

"My, my!" the man giggled. "You DO take after Batman, don't you?" With this, Robin was suddenly kicked painfully in the back by Aqualad, forcing him to release Immortus. "Have you found her?" the general asked as he dusted off his uniform.

Garth nodded. "She is resisting the Brain, however," he informed the man. "I tried to convince him to use force now but he insists on making her come with her own will. Says that it'll be the most torture to Malcolm Crowe."

"Well he'd better hurry," the other man grumbled. "Now that the pesky Titans are here, we don't exactly have time to dilly-dally shilly-shally." Motioning his head towards the crowd fighting in the previous room, he ordered, "Keep 'em busy."

Waiting for the Titan to leave, Robin immediately kicked the general's feet, causing him to fall down. The Boy Wonder jumped into the air and quickly took out a restraint bird-a-rang and dropped it on General Immortus. As the bird-a-rang shot out several steel-strength cords that tied themselves around the man, Robin swiftly ran up the stairs towards the sound of voices. Going into a bedroom, the first thing he saw was Malcolm Crowe bound to a chair with some rope watching the Brain speaking to his wife.

"…come with us now," Robin heard. "It is time to leave."

"No, Anna!" Malcolm cried. "Don't listen to him! He's lying!"

"Malcolm's the one that's lying to you," the Brain continued. "You can feel it deep inside, can't you? Resist him, woman. Resist his words."

"I…" the woman said softly as if she was in a daze. "I don't know… what to do…"

"No, please!" Malcolm begged. "Anna! Would you please stop listening to him! Listen to me. Listen to the sound of my voice."

"M—Malcolm?" she muttered.

"Shut up you fool!" the Brain shrieked as a chainsaw emerged from the machine's body. "Or shall I have to silence you forever?" The weapon loomed close to Malcolm before a bird-a-rang attached itself to the Brain. "What?" he cried as the bird-a-rang beeped twice and deactivated the Brain's weapon, which fell harmlessly to the ground.

"I always have time for new toys," Robin said with a cocky smile as he delivered a single blow to the Brain, cracking his glass head.

"No! You fools! You know not what you do!" the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil cried. "Ignorant fools! You fail to understand! This woman—!"

"Stay right there!" the possessed Speedy shouted as he stood at the doorway of the bedroom with an arrow adjusted nicely on his bow, which was aimed directly at Robin and the Brain.

"Shoot," the leader of Titans West challenged. "Shoot me."

The latter's mask narrowed as he released the arrow, which Robin easily dodged and countered with a bird-a-rang. The arrow lodged itself on the Brain and completely deactivated him, forcing him to shut off.

Speedy was suddenly knocked aside by the massive Mallah, who proceeded to grab the deactivated Brain and jump through the bedroom window. Speedy soon scrambled after him. Robin heard the distinctive sounds of footsteps downstairs, indicating the others were leaving as well.

Within moments, Starfire and Cyborg came rushing to his location. "It was all so very strange," Starfire panted.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"While we were fighting, Más and Menos accidentally ran into Mallah and in the confusion, Bumblebee and Aqualad accidentally injured each other. Mallah then decided to retreat, so he ordered them to run away. Then he freed Immortus and ran upstairs, probably to get the Brain," Cyborg answered.

"Are you alright, Anna?" Starfire said softly as she helped Anna Crowe sit down on the bed.

"I—I think so."

Robin sighed and took out a bird-a-rang, cutting the rope that bound Malcolm. "How long were they here?" he asked.

"Not too long," came the exhausted reply. "It's a good thing you came when you did. Just in the nick of time like last time at that resort place." He sighed. "I'm guessing you Titans have a knack for timing, huh?"

"It's our specialty," Cyborg shrugged.

"What did they want?" Robin interrogated.

Malcolm threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Beats me. The same thing as last time—Anna. I still have no idea why."

The Teen Titans shared a glance. They were fairly certain they knew the reason. _Cellular degeneration,_ they remembered the Dark Knight saying. _The Brotherhood wish to create a weapon out of it. Imagine the possibilities—a weapon that can cause instant cellular degeneration._

"Sorry we're a bit late," he apologized. "We would've been here sooner but we've been a bit… busy."

"You could say we were in a completely different world," Cyborg joked.

"But your beautiful home is ruined," Starfire gasped exasperatedly. "How will you ever pay for the fixing?"

"It's fine," Malcolm replied. "We have some resources."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked.

The Crowe nodded. "We'll have some people come by and fix it. It'll be done by a week." Standing up, he said, "Well thank you for your help, Teen Titans. If there's anything we need, we'll be sure to call you."

Robin nodded and began to leave, followed by his two friends. "Wait! The party!" Anna suddenly cried.

"Party?" Cyborg said.

"Oh that's right!" Malcolm said. "Would you like to tell them, dear?"

Anna smiled and promptly said to the three, "We were planning to invite you later, but now that it's almost winter, Malcolm and I were planning to throw a small Christmas party here. We kind of want to get to know some of the people here so Malcolm wanted to have a party for some of his business friends. It'll be around the middle of December, two or three weeks from now. We're hoping you'd come."

The three Titans looked at each other with hopeful eyes. "Well it beats hanging out by ourselves in the Tower," Robin answered. "I think you can add five people to your guest list."

…

Beast Boy absentmindedly strolled into a building near the Palace, in which he was told there would be some drinks. He rubbed his back, aching in pain at the rigorous magic duels he was semi-forced to participate in. Night had fallen upon the magical world and there was a soft chirping similar to crickets but much more softer and melodic. The cool air brushed against his skin.

Walking past a man and half-absently greeting him (often times now complete strangers would recognize him as Raven and greet him courteously, to which he learned to reply back just as respectfully), Beast Boy eventually made his way to what seemed like a lunch room, in which he noticed a certain green boy lying asleep on the chair with her head facing sideways.

"Tch," he scoffed as he wandered over to her location. She was peacefully asleep. It was almost unnerving to watch his own self sleeping, Beast Boy thought. Even more unnerving was that it wasn't lazily slouched over the table and snoring like he truly would've done.

"What?" he said to her. "You spend the entire day with your old boyfriend and leave me alone here? All alone with barely anyone I know? Without even thinking about how I'd feel?" Grumbling as he unconsciously stroked his fingers through her green hair, he mumbled, "Course not. You're Raven. You hardly ever care about other people…" He suddenly found himself picturing Raven in her own body, with her own face. He hadn't realized how soft her hair was, how gentle her skin seemed, how daintily her chest rose and fell as she breathed. Her lips.

Beast Boy hastily came to his senses and looked down to see his hand resting on top of hers. He hurriedly drew it away, wondering when and how long their hands had been touching. He began repeatedly pounding his head softly, whispering, "What are you doing, Beast Boy? What's going on with you? You're not thinking… _that_ way are you? With Raven? Disgusting! How could you do that to your best friend? And with _Raven_? Is that the best you can do? Are you sure?"

He stopped pounding his head when he felt Raven's soft hair course through his fingers.

His temporary struggle was not unheard by Raven, who slowly lifted her head unceremoniously and gaze at her visitor with half-awake eyes. "Oh? You're here?" she muttered.

Much of Beast Boy's previous thoughts disappeared in a flash. "Yeah, I'm here!" he said in a harsh voice. "What? Am I in your way or something? Is Raphael coming in a little while so you two can go broomstick or magic carpet flying or something?"

Raven was puzzled. "What?"

"You heard me!" he continued. "Come on Rae, don't you ever think about what I feel? You left me alone on this stupid world so you could hang out with your ex. Don't you have a single regard for me? Don't you ever for a single, tiny moment, ever think about me? You know how long I've been waiting for you to come back so I'd have a friend I know to talk to or to see? 'A few hours' you said. 'Sunset at the latest' you said. Well what time is it now?"

"I—" Raven stammered. She hadn't expected an outburst like that, least of all from Beast Boy. "I'm sorry Beast Boy, alright?"

"Oh, you're sorry? After all we've been through, that's all you have to say? Sorry might've cut it years ago when you barely spoke to us. Sorry might've cut it when you always thought of me as an annoying little creep. Sorry might've cut it when no matter what I'd do to make you smile, to make you open up to us, you'd always shut us out. But not now! We've been with each other for years! We helped defeat so many bad guys, including your father. We've literally lived in each other's shoes! And after all this you still treat me like I'm a little annoying pest?"

"Beast Boy—"

"Four years!" he kept going. "Four years I've done all I could to make you a member of our team. Four years I've been doing everything I could to get you to smile at least once. Four years you keep pushing me back and pushing me back but I still try. Now you take one step on Azarath and one look at Raphael and you turn into a teenage girl with a huge crush."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" she cried.

"Don't act all innocent! I know you still have feelings for Raphael. It's so obvious!" he nearly barked. "Why don't you bring him a pink elephant floating on a cloud with flowers and candy and balloons and a sign that says 'I Lurve You' while you're at it?"

"My relationship with Raphael is none of your business, Beast Boy!" she hissed in reply. "And besides, we're just friends. I don't feel anything for him anymore, and even if I did, it's none of your business."

"You know what?" Beast Boy said angrily. "I don't even know what to do with you anymore. I've been waiting for you but I guess it wasn't worth it. I'll be in my room."

He turned around to leave but found himself stopping in his tracks. It was almost as if something inside him didn't want to leave.

"H—How long were you waiting?" he heard a quiet voice say. "You said you were waiting… how long exactly?"

"…Since the moment you left," he grumbled half-heartedly.

"Look, Beast Boy," Raven started in a soft, kinder voice than before, one Beast Boy didn't think was possible for her. "Garfield. I really am sorry, okay?" She let out a sigh. "Next time… I'll call you when I'm late for something."

Beast Boy flinched slightly. She had almost never called him by his real name before. "It's just…" she continued. "Having someone waiting for me like that… I'm not really used to that feeling. I'm used to having officials or really important people waiting for me, and those time's I'd always come early. But having a friend like you waiting for me… I never really knew what that feels like. Raphael never waited for me like that. Neither did any of the other Teen Titans because we'd always be together. So I'm sorry…

"Having someone—a friend—waiting for me… worrying about me… wondering when I'll be back… it's difficult for me," Raven admitted. "I'm sorry for all those times, okay? All the times I ignored you or pushed you away. I guess… I just didn't know how to react to something like that. No one here ever tried to do that to me besides Raphael. The monks and officials here just see me as the daughter of Arella. And my mother—well she barely ever saw me at all."

Beast Boy felt his eyes flickering and his heart racing, though he didn't understand why.

"Raven…" he started.

"You—" Raven said. "Garfield… you're not a person… who means nothing to me."

At this, Beast Boy couldn't help but turn around and face her. And even though he was looking at his own face, he saw—perhaps only for a split second—Raven's face under the green skin. He saw her apologetic frown, her eyes that dashed from here to there nervously. He saw it then—the true Raven. The same one who had hugged him after they fought Malchior. The same one he gave his lucky penny to when they fought Trigon. She was there and then. She was here and now.

"Raven—" he began before the door burst open and Etzel came bumbling in with his same suitcase.

"Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting!" he muttered quickly. "But I really do have it this time."

"Uh, Etzel…" Raven stammered. "This really isn't a good time."

"It'll be just a second!" Etzel protested. "I have a bunch more for you to try!" He excitedly set down his suitcase and took out numerous bottles along with the two cups that the two switched Titans were so used to seeing by now. "I've been doing some research," he bumbled. "And it turns out I've been missing a core ingredient the entire time—firefox blood! It makes perfect sense now that I think about it due to the animal's genetically magical properties." He began pouring out a liquid from one bottle. "I've added the missing ingredient into all previous potions. I know it'll work this time. I'm sure of it! Alright, let's start with Sample 1-alpha."

He poured to them a light orange liquid and handed it to them.

"Etzel…" Beast Boy moaned.

"Please!"

Beast Boy and Raven sighed as they drank it within seconds. Nothing happened, as usual.

"Sample 2-alpha," the captain tried as he poured them a dark green potion. Again, nothing happened.

"Sample 3-alpha." He poured a violet potion. Nothing happened.

"Sample 4-alpha." A maroon potion came into the cups. Nothing happened.

"Sample 5-alpha." A brownish liquid. Nothing happened.

"Sample 6-alpha." A darker orange. They were getting tired of drinking.

"Sample 7-alpha." A red. Beast Boy felt like vomiting.

"Sample 8-alpha." Pink. Nothing happened.

"This isn't working," Beast Boy interrupted. "I'm sorry, Etzel. But I can't take much more of this. It—it's been a long day and I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Sorry."

"O—oh," he stammered in return. "Oh well… that's fine. I understand."

"I'll be in my room," the changeling said. "Night Etzel. Night—" He stopped for a split second. "Good night, Raven," he said before leaving.

"Oh… well…" Etzel sighed as he began to pack up his things. "I guess I'll go now, Raven."

Raven was silent before suddenly stopping him. "Wait! Where's my sample 9-alpha?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh? Well I'm not sure if the potion will work if you're the only one that drinks it."

"We never know. This kind of potion was never made before," Raven shrugged. "And besides I could use a few more drinks."

The captain smiled warmly and agreed, "Sure thing," as he poured her sample 9-alpha—a clear liquid almost like water.

"Cheers," Raven said to herself as she downed the drink.

"Sample 10-alpha," he said as a yellow liquid came. "So what is it with you and him?" He asked.

"What is there to say? We're friends," she smiled as she gulped down the substance.

As he poured out sample 11-alpha, a deep blue, he said, "A man and a woman who've known each other for years are just friends? I find that a bit hard to believe. Especially because you two are literally living in each other's shoes."

She drank the potion expertly. "There comes to a point when you can never see a guy like that, Captain Etzel," she returned. "I mean. I—he's great and all. But as a boyfriend? _That_ would be torture."

"What were you two talking about before, then? From the looks on your faces, I can tell it was something serious. Something about your relationship with each other." He chuckled. "Come on, I'm only thirty one. Do you think me old enough to not know these things?"

He poured out a dark red wine. "Sample 12-alpha."

Raven smiled. "We're friends," she said. "Friends. Nothing more. Nothing else. We can't be anything more than that. Best friends. That's it."

She drank the wine slowly, feeling its warmth glide down her throat.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy had reached the front entrance and was making his way out before he heard thunder rumble. Within seconds, he felt some light rain _pitter-patter_ on the ground.

"Wow," he grunted as he crossed his arms and started walking out into the rain. "A magic world and they can't figure out a spell to stop being rained on?" Feeling the rain drench his clothes, he covered his head with the hood and wrapped his blue cloak around Raven's thin body.

He suddenly felt very nauseous and felt a strange warmth in his chest. "Ugh, too much wine," he complained as the warmth grew and grew. "Oh God… is this what a period feels like? Wait... does Raven even get periods?" He stopped, suspiciously feeling his burning chest. "What the?" The warmth quickly disappeared and left a freezing sensation in his chest as a bright orb of green light burst from his chest. The wispy, phantom-like light flew into the air and swiftly glided back into the building.

"Sample 13-alpha," Etzel spoke as Raven suddenly felt a burning sensation in her chest.

"Uh… I think that's enough for me," she said. "Beast Boy's not a drinker. I'm not sure if this body can take anymore…" The warmth became hotter and hotter until it suddenly dropped to an ice-cold feeling. Raven gasped and dropped her glass cup on the table as a dark blue orb of light escaped her body and flew through the walls and out the door.

She sat limp on her chair. "R—Raven?" Etzel called. "Raven? Raven! Are you okay?" He grabbed her green hands. They felt cold.

In a blink, a flash of green light came into the room and flew straight into the lifeless body, sending it flying onto the table. "Raven!" the man cried as he raised her head. "Are you okay? What happened? Raven!"

"R—Raven?" Beast Boy mumbled as his eyes slowly opened. "Who—where am I?" He placed a hand on his forehead before suddenly noticing his hand was green once more.

Meanwhile, Raven woke up to the _pitter-patter_ of rain, feeling her entire body drenched and wet. "What the?" she mumbled. "What just happened?" She picked herself up from the hard ground and noticed she was wearing her old blue cloak. She gasped, "No…" as she felt all around her body, her face, her hair. Her eyes widened as she ran back inside the building.

She didn't know what to think, only that she had to go back. Within seconds, she reached the room where Etzel was and saw with her very own eyes a green boy staring back at her, looking just as surprised as she was. He smiled, "R—Raven?"

A wide grin appeared on her face. "Beast Boy?" she cried, her eyes lighting up in joy.

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Bet you didn't see that one coming! (But admittingly a bit meh in the middle...)**

**Yes, they are truly switched back. No tricks. Raven is now Raven and Beast Boy is now Beast Boy. And NO the story is not over. Far from it actually. But what's going to happen now that they are back to normal? Especially now that they're truly inching closer and closer to admitting their true feelings?**

**Will Beast Boy and Raven ever find out their true feelings for each other?**

**What's going to happen at the Crowe's Christmas party?**

**Why were Titans East helping the Brotherhood of Evil? Is Rift a part of the Brotherhood?**

**Who is Rift and what exactly are his motives?**

**All will be revealed in time, many in the very next chapter. Stay tuned and keep on reading! :D**


	9. My Guardian Angel

It was midnight when the two Titans returned, thankfully back in their own bodies. The others couldn't have been more overjoyed. Raphael appeared soon afterwards, as Raven had asked him to stay at the Tower make some extra body-switching potions in case she and Beast Boy somehow get switched again.

After a small celebration, Beast Boy, Raven, and Raphael were informed of the recent battle at the Crowe residence and also were told of the Christmas party they were hosting. Beast Boy said it sounded like fun. Raven said she probably didn't want to go.

That night, after the Titans had bid each other goodnight and made their way into their respective bedrooms, Raven was disturbed by a brisk knock on her door, which she opened to reveal the green boy whose body she had been for about a week.

"Why are you here, Beast Boy?" she asked in an almost tired voice.

"I came to ask you what you've been eating," he replied curtly. "I'm getting pretty constipated right now. So what have you been eating while you were in my body? Have you been eating meat?"

She rolled her eyes and proceeded to close the door but was stopped by Beast Boy. He gave her one of his boyish smiles and scratched his head softly.

"Yes?" she said. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swiftly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "I came to do this," he said softly as he squeezed his warm arms around her. "It's good to have you back, Rae."

Raven could feel the heat of his body pressed up against her. It felt strangely comfortable. Neither noticed Raphael standing at the end of the hallway, watching the two Titans embracing. Silently he understood and quickly placed in his pocket the small flower he was planning on giving to Raven and walked away.

Beast Boy soon let her go and sent her off into her room with a "Good night." Beast Boy then began walking down the hallway towards the elevator to reach his room, taking on a stroll that had a little spring in his step.

He began imagining Raven was walking next to him with the same spring-step as him, placing her feet in front of each other simultaneously to him. "What the?" he smirked as he looked the imagined Raven up and down. "What are you doing here?" She shrugged. "Why am I thinking about you?" Beast Boy wondered to himself and kept walking. The Raven placed her hands behind her back just as he had his and followed him.

It wasn't until he had reached the elevator that he finally stopped and confronted his pursuer.

"Okay, fine, what do you want?" he asked her. Again she shrugged. "What, do you think I think about you all the time or something?" The Raven in his imagination shrugged once more. "Are you trying to make me like you?" he inquired. "You honestly think I like you?"

"You're imagining me," the mental projection said monotonously. "What does that tell you?"

"Well forget about it," he returned. "I don't like you… and besides even if I did, you're not even my type." He cleared his throat and said, "My type is—"

In the blink of an eye, another Raven appeared before him, this one dressed in a revealing and tight black dress with dark lipstick and eyeshadow. "Hello, Beast Boy," she said in a seductive voice.

"Uhm… I might have been thinking that," he admitted. "But I also like smart girls."

A third Raven appeared, one dressed as a young secretary. She wore a white dress shirt with a tight black skirt and her hair was done up in a bun. Glasses adorned her eyes and bright red lipstick covered her mouth.

"I like cute girls!" he blurted out.

A Raven dressed in a schoolgirl outfit appeared before him, her hair done up in two ponytails. "Hi hi Beastie Boo Boo!" she called.

"Grr…" he grumbled as his eyes jumped back and forth between the skimpy, smart, and cute Ravens. "Shut up. Stop it! I don't want to see any of you!" he cried. "I just want to see—Raven. The cool one. My friend." He turned around and went directly back to Raven's room, leaving behind his imagined Ravens.

"_Yo Beebs. You need to get a date for the party, right? How 'bout that cute clerk girl we saved two weeks ago?"_ he remembered Cyborg telling him earlier that night.

"No, Cy," the changeling thought to himself. "I think… I have someone else in mind now." He gave himself the excuse that he would only go with Raven as friends. After all, both had no dates.

Beast Boy knocked on Raven's door, his heart beating quickly. A part of him hoped she was already asleep so he wouldn't have to ask her such a thing. He took a deep breath and knocked again when no answer came. He mentally worked out their conversation and the things he would say to her, carefully avoiding any situation where Raven would say "No."

When there was no response, Beast Boy did not know whether he was disappointed or relieved. Awkwardly shaking his legs, he slowly dragged himself away from the door before abruptly returning. As if something had come over him, the boy slowly reached out his hand onto the cold door and pulled it open.

"R—Raven?" he whispered, hearing his voice echo inside the dark room. He opened the door wider, letting the light of the hallway make its way into the room and falling onto the image of a sleeping Raven. The edges of Beast Boy's lips curled upwards as he slowly crept across the room towards her side, gently tucking her blanket snugly in. "Night, Rae," he whispered as he reached his arm over her body and tucked the other side in. Feeling Raven's steady breathing on his cheek, he became instantly aware of how close he was to her. Slowly tilting his head, he came face to face with the sleeping sorceress, whose face was mere inches away from his. Her breathing tickled his neck.

Feeling his heart beat steadily faster and faster, he gently raised his hand and felt her cheek with the very tips of his fingers, feeling its softness and smoothness as if he were caressing a baby. It all suddenly came to him—all those times he had spent alone with her, talking to her, smiling with her. Even though they drove each other crazy, they had their moments. The time he had entered her mind, the time he became the Beast and saved her, the time Raven rescued them and the world from Trigon's clutches.

"_For luck,"_ he had said to her then as he slipped into her fingers his lucky penny.

"_If it wasn't for that beast, I might not be here right now,"_ she said to him after the fight with Adonis. _"Having that thing inside doesn't make you an animal. Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man."_

"_You think you're alone, Raven. But you're not," _his own words echoed in his ears as he felt his lips getting closer and closer to hers.

"What am I doing?" he thought to himself as time froze. "What am I feeling? Why am I here, now? Do I—am I in love with… Raven? No, that's impossible, right?"

"_Beast Boy." _Their lips were barely touching. "_You're not someone who means nothing to me."_

He felt his lips graze hers. He didn't know what he was thinking, what he was doing. But at that instant, it all felt right. Raven's eyes opened.

His entire body shaking, Beast Boy suddenly pulled away and placed his lips over his trembling lips. Little did he know that Raven was doing the same.

"B—Beast Boy?" he heard, causing his heart to drop as he spun around in panic.

"Uh—R—Raven!" he stammered. How long had she been awake? Was she awake the entire time? "You—you probably are w—wondering what I'm doing here… right?"

Raven blinked. She didn't know what was happening. She had only woken when her empathic powers felt a very strong presence near her.

"Uh—sure," she replied, too confused to be angry. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…" he dropped, his arms flailing about awkwardly. "So… I was wondering, Rae, if…"

"…well?" she said impatiently.

"You know what? Never mind. I'll leave," he said quickly before turning around and making his way to the door.

Raven furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hands on her lips. What was that? She had felt something… a very strong emotion. Wait…

"Beast Boy!" her voice hit him like stone. "Did you—did you just…"

The changeling stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back to face her. Seeing her fingers on her lips, he knew that it was too late.

"You—" she cried. "Did you just ki—. Do you like—"

"Raven, it's not what—" he stuttered. "I mean—it is but it's not—"

"It is?" she jumped. "You mean you—you just—!" Both stared at each other with their hearts racing simultaneously. Raven turned away. "Get out."

"Raven—"

"Get out!"

"Raven, I just thought that—"

"Well stop thinking!" she cried. "You can't think about things like that, Beast Boy. We just—I… you can't do things like this!"

"Raven…"

"Just get out now before I send you to another dimension!" she hissed. Upon hearing some shuffling feet and closing door, she knew he was gone.

Biting her lips, the sorceress placed her fingers back over her mouth. Did he… kiss her? She definitely felt something there. And her powers, too—they sensed a very powerful emotion, one she had not felt in a very long time.

Was it… love?

No! It couldn't be.

It was strange, she thought. The emotion—she could still sense it. But Beast Boy had already left, hadn't he? "Beast Boy?" she called, wondering if he was standing outside the door. When no response came, she knew he had already left. But then what was the source of this emotion she was feeling?

Was it… her? Is this feeling of love coming from inside her? Her hands trembling, Raven walked over to her desk and grabbed her mirror. Taking a deep breath, she sat onto her bed in the lotus position and examined her reflection inside the mirror. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted, feeling the bed disappear from under her. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." The mirror faded and crumbled under her fingers like dust. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." A cool breeze brushed by her cheek.

"Welcome back," she heard her own voice say as she looked up to see a figure resembling her wearing a yellow cloak. "Long time no see."

"I guess you could call it that," she replied.

…

"How are things?" Raven asked as the two walked side by side across the world of her subconscious. "How is Rage?"

"Nicely controlled, ever since Trigon's downfall," came the reply. "Raven, I know why you are here. I am you, remember? There's no point in beating around the bush."

Raven sighed as Wisdom adjusted her glasses. "She always did know what was on my mind," Raven thought silently.

"Thanks," Wisdom replied.

"Oh right," Raven rolled her eyes. "Almost forgot I don't have any silent thoughts in here."

"So about this Beast Boy situation," she started before a blur of pink appeared before her eyes.

"Oh Em Gee!" it cried. "I can't believe it! Rae-Rae, this is like totes awesome!"

"Oh boy."

"Soooo… what happens now?" Happiness piped up. "I thought we weren't gonna have a boyfriend forever! First Raphy takes us back home and now Beastie is falling in love with us? Could this _get_ any better?"

"Yeah, Rae! The woman of the hour!" Brave suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Slapping Raven on the back, the former exclaimed, "Dang, bro. GG!"

"Would you guys shut up?" the sorceress shouted, silencing her emoticlones. "You all know why I'm here. Where is she?"

Brave rolled her eyes. "Fine. Yo, Juliet! She wants you!"

In a flash, the scenery suddenly shifted in a wave of light and the Ravens were suddenly brought into a realm of grassy plains and daisies with a bright blue sky. There she spotted a figure in a purple cloak twirling a daisy in her fingers. She approached her almost warily.

"Did you know, Raven?" the figure asked with a peaceful sigh. "All flowers have a meaning. The rose is passion. The tulip is forgiveness. And the daisy—" she chuckled to herself, "—the daisy means hidden love."

"Don't make me puke all over your hidden love," Raven snapped. "What do you want, Love?"

"How ironic," she replied blissfully. "You come to me, call for me, come into my realm, and yet here you are asking _me_ what _I_ want. Sounds a little weird, doesn't it, Raven?"

"You know what I mean," came the stern reply.

"And _you_ know what _I_ mean."

Raven sighed. "I want you out. Don't make me sick with your delusional thoughts."

"Maybe I am a delusional thought," Love pondered. She looked up directly at Raven's eyes and said simply, "But just remember: I'm _your_ delusional thought." And with this she disappeared right before the sorceress's eyes in a flash of light and daisies.

…

Two weeks later, the night of the Christmas party came and Cyborg was leaning on the T-Car, yelling at Beast Boy to hurry up. Robin and Starfire were already inside waiting impatiently for the green boy, who came out soon enough dressed in a tuxedo.

"Come on, String Bean. Just because you don't have a date doesn't mean you're allowed to be late," he said as he gently shoved the changeling into the car. He stepped inside and revved the car to life before speeding off into the direction of the Crowe residence.

Raven watched the four as they went from one of the windows of the Titans Tower. She sighed as she thought of Beast Boy. Ever since the incident two weeks ago, she had thought about him all the time, no matter how hard she tried not to. And every night she couldn't help but retreat into the depths of her mind and talk more to Love.  
"How long were you gone since Raphael?" she had asked Love once. "A while," came the reply. "Ever since Malchior."

Raven wondered whether this love was for Malchior… or from a certain green skinned boy. She waved him goodbye as the T-Car disappeared from sight. She began thinking about Beast Boy and the times she had shared with him.

All the times she nagged him or teased him. All the times she humiliated and made fun of him. Those rare moments when they actually got along and had nice conversations with each other. The even rarer moments when they sat next to each other and simply did not talk—such as when they were eating breakfast—but, because they were so close, it did not feel awkward to not speak. The time she first hugged him after the defeat of Malchior. The time he gave her his lucky penny before the rebirth of her father. She remembered the clinking of the coin as she dropped it onto the hard rock just before she became Trigon's portal. She remembered their trip together at Andern Falls, the rides they went to and the games they played. She remembered the stuffed unicorn toy he won for her.

"All those times," she wondered to herself. "I was always so mean to you. But yet… you were always so nice to me. So patient with me… I wonder how you did it, Beast Boy." She gazed up at the starry night. "How is it that every time I push you away, you always come back to me?"

She imagined Beast Boy's face in her mind and subconsciously placed her fingers over her lips. "One day, eventually I'll push you too far and you won't come back. You'll disappear. And I would be so guilty… I don't want that to ever happen. I want to stay with you, always. There are things that are thought of as fantasies merely because they're far away. Stars and suns are like that. It's the same with beautiful people; one day, they too will disappear." She imagined his face and his warm smile. "I think—I think I realize now what a beautiful person you really are, Beast Boy. You truly are a beautiful human. But just like other beautiful things, you'll disappear one day, too. But—But I can't let that happen. I won't let you disappear. I won't push you away anymore." She stared up at the moon-filled say and declared, "I won't push you, Beast Boy."

"Why don't you go, then?" a voice called. Raven abruptly spun around to see Raphael standing behind her. He smiled warmly at her.

"Raphael?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "The potions are done. I did what Captain Etzel told me to do. They should be ready in any emergency." He dropped his head and scratched his hair boyishly. "I—I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to the party with me, Raven. I—uh… I was going to say that maybe we could try our relationship over again."

"Wh—what?"

"Y—yeah… but I guess not. It's fine. I see that you have Beast Boy now."

"What? No Raphael, I wasn't—did you hear all that?" He nodded. "No—you're misunderstanding!" Raven protested. "I don't have _feelings_ for him. I was just saying I'd appreciate him as a friend from now on! I'm not!—I mean it's not like that, it's—"

"It's obvious, Raven," Raphael reassured. "Even Starfire told me she had her suspicions."

Raven blushed. "Is—is it that obvious all along?"

He nodded. "I think you should go after him, Raven. No more waiting in the shadows."

"I—I can't. It's too late now," she said sadly. "I think I messed up. I told him some things I shouldn't have said. I think I hurt him too much."

"If he truly loves you, you know he'd forget about all that." Raphael stepped forward and took her hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You can't go to the party like that!" he laughed. "A cloak and leotard? When everyone else is in tuxes and dresses? I don't know much about Earthly attire, but don't worry. Your Fairy Godfather is here. I'll make you the most beautiful woman in the world."

Closing his eyes, he whispered some enchantments and spells as Raven felt herself becoming brighter and brighter. Sparks flew as she became engulfed in light and she felt herself swelling with air. Her clothes peeled off and transformed into a new material, softer and silkier. She felt her hair stand on end and magically wrap themselves together.

Within seconds, the transformation was complete and Raven was clothed in a beautiful white gown with light blue accents. "Hurry and go to the party," Raphael urged. "I'll be going back to New Azarath, now."

Raven took a while to process everything that was going on but eventually nodded with a smile before constructing a portal to the Crowe home. Before entering the portal, however, she gave Raphael a light peck on the cheek. "I loved you," she confessed. "And I'm so sorry we couldn't be together now. But I think—I think I want to give me and Beast Boy a try. And I think we'll be good."

"Yeah!" Raphael nodded, hiding his disappointment. "I think so, too." In moments, Raven entered the portal and disappeared, leaving her former boyfriend alone in the tower. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a now wilted flower. "I guess we just weren't meant to be," he sighed before leaving.

…

Raven gazed longingly into the party within through the glass wall. She saw many people, most she did not know or only saw in passing. But they were of no importance to her; her eyes were locked on the green boy in the suit who was standing in the center of the room. She sighed, her breath making a small cloud in the cold air. "Beast Boy…" she whispered.

Letting out a deep breath, Raven walked towards the door and opened it, taking a step into the house, walking past several people and making her way to the boy in her dreams. "Where is he?" she kept thinking. "Where is he? How hard can it be to find a green boy in a party like this?" And then she saw him.

Beast Boy's eyes caught hers and they stared deeply into each other's eyes. Then all the confusion, all the crowd, all the loudness and sounds and feelings and emotions seemed to melt away as the world only contained Beast Boy and Raven. She stepped forward as she made her way towards the green boy as if pulled by a powerful force.

"Raven…" she heard him say. "You're here."

"Y—yeah," she replied, trying to make her voice sound as least monotonous as possible. "Sorry it took me a while…"

"You look beautiful," he smiled. "You really do—I mean… I guess I shouldn't be saying that anymore, should I?"

"Look, Beast Boy," she interrupted. "I know what I said before, but I only said what I said because I was confused. I don't really mean all that—not anymore."

"What?" he replied with lost eyes. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is..." Raven said as she stared into his eyes, edging closer to him. "I'm saying that ever since all this—this body switching happened, I was confused. All I've been was confused. Confused about everything. And I still am. But now I see that—that it's okay to be confused. I'm okay with being confused—as long as I have you." Raven could feel her heart racing as Beast Boy's soft breath tickled her chin. "I want to be confused with you, together," she said. "Right now, that's the only thing in my world that makes sense—that whatever happens, you'll always be there for me. You always have. And you always will. Despite all this confusion, when I'm with you, it doesn't have to make sense. I'm here, and you're here. And that's all that matters."

His deep green eyes gazed into hers. "Wo—ow," he gasped. "You mean you… you…?" She nodded. "Was that—" he said. "Were those difficult words for you say?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. Not anymore."

A slow dance song began playing, to which the two Titans smiled. "May I have this dance?" Beast Boy asked brightly, extending his hand. Raven smiled and took it, placing her right hand on his shoulder and her left hand at his side. As the two began dancing with their bodies so close to each other they could feel each other breathe, Beast Boy whispered, "You look beautiful," once more.

"Thanks," she replied. "It was a gift from my Fairy Godfather."

"Oh? Well are you going to stay? Or will you have to disappear at midnight and go back to the Raven who always hits and makes fun of me?"

Raven shrugged as she stared into his eyes. "That's up to you."

"So are you…" he smirked, "my princess now or something?"

"Your fairy princess?" she chuckled. "Huh, that's something."

"Then what'll I be?"

"How about…" Raven pondered. "You be my guardian angel?"

And with this, she slowly closed her eyes and placed her lips on his, letting the world around her melt away as their kiss engulfed all her senses. She felt a strong warmth come from within her heart and she knew that all was good.

"Guardian angel sounds good to me," he smiled. "Raven?"

"Mhmm?"

"I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, Gar."

~Difficult Words to Say~

* * *

**Well, there you have it! Beast Boy and Raven are officially a couple now. A bit of a short chapter, but I hope you guys liked it. I promise I will update as soon as I can but please understand when I can't write chapters as fast :(**

**Don't forget to REVIEW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW! There is still so much of the story left to be written so the more feedback the faster I'll write! :)**

**Kaarlinaa - I hope these moments were cute enough for you!**

**goldenrod51 - Thanks! I hope you like the rest of the story that's yet to come!**

**BartWLewis - Yup, Beast Boy's finally standing up to Raven. And now it seems that that was the only way Raven could truly appreciate all that Beast Boy had done for her.**

**koryandrs - Unobtainium is a universal name for an element that is either nonexistent or very hard to find. Many comics, movies, stories, etc. reference to Unobtainium, not just Avatar. And using Xenothium will probably mislead readers to think that Rift is somehow connected to Red X or that he will use the Xenothium for a weapon, which I have no intention of Rift doing. Raven and Beast Boy's switch back will not be the end of the story. Which means they maaaayyyyyy switch back... *hint hint* But I plan on this story being more about the affects of one's actions rather than the actual body-switch. Farms could be a part of Azarathean culture. Where else would magical herbs come from, I guess?**

**Bluedog197 - Nope, no mistletoe, sorry! Hope this one was just as good as you thought it would be!**

**IshylovesGeorgeShelley - Haha thanks for your review! I'll try to make the others as good.**

**CleoArrow - Wow! Thank you for your kind words! Really makes my day :) Oh and if you missed the author's note from the last chapter, I mentioned that Arella switiching Raven and Beast Boy was not to hook them up together. The reason is much much darker and more serious than that. So keep reading to find out!**

**Raven Logan - Thanks! And happy belated birthday! :)**

**Soul - I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible!**


End file.
